Harry Potter and the Soul Guide
by Sunshine1313
Summary: It's a few months after Dumbledore's death, and Harry is still thinking of quiting school and searching for the horcruxes. But there are a certain few in his extended family that want to keep him safe from harm. Harry tells them that he knows a lot, but
1. Gone For Good

It was a quiet, sunny summer's day at the end of June. Little children could be seen jumping through the icy cold sprinklers all over the town of Little Whinging, Surrey. All down the street of Privet Drive were people who felt that it would be a perfect day to walk their dogs.

_'How very foolish they are,'_ thought Harry Potter, as he watched these people from his bedroom window._ 'Don't they understand the dangers they're putting themselves in?'_

At this last thought, he chuckled to himself. It was a cold laugh, with no happiness held within.

_'Of course they wouldn't know. Muggles wouldn't know of the dangers of the wizarding world.'_

And with one last glance out the window, he resumed packing. Harry Potter was a sixteen, almost seventeen, year old wizard. He had messy jet-black hair, and emerald green eyes, that were behind a pair of round glasses. The only thing that was peculiar about him was the lightning shaped scar on his forehead, which was almost hidden underneath his messy hair. When he was a kid of eleven years old, he loved his scar, but now he hated it, for it was a memory of his horrible past, and a foreshadowing of his gruesome future.

When he was a year old, his parents, Lily and James Potter, had to go into hiding due to a power-hungry wizard killer, by the name of Voldemort. The Potters trusted their lives with one of their best friends, Peter Pettigrew, and in the end, Pettigrew sold them out. Not even a week later, on Halloween night, Voldemort broke into their home in Godrics Hollow. He killed James first, and then went upstairs to the nursery in the hopes of killing him. But his mother, stepped in front of him, protecting him from the evil killer. In the end, she too was killed, which allowed Voldemort to step up and perform the famous killing curse, Avada Kedavra, on the little baby Harry. But because of his mother's protection, the killing curse backfired, leaving an orphaned Harry with a scar, while Voldemort's powers were destroyed. He was then taken to his aunt and uncles house, where he was to spend the next ten years of his live miserable, and oblivious to his peculiar past. It wasn't until Hagrid, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Gamekeeper, brought him his school letter at the age of eleven that he knew what and who he was.

Since then, Voldemort had once again returned to full power. At the end of Harry's fifth year, he was told why Voldemort had tried to kill him as a baby. The Hogwarts Divination Professor, Sibyll Trelawney, gave a prophecy, which was heard by the late headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. The prophecy basically said that a child born at the end of July to parents, who had thrice defied Voldemort, was the only one who could kill him. Severus Snape, one of the Dark Lord's followers, heard half of it, and told his master immediately. So Voldemort went to kill Harry in the hopes of destroying his only threat, but in the end, he created his only threat, for when the curse backfired, he transferred some of his powers to Harry, making him stronger.

It was only a few months ago that he learned from Dumbledore how he was supposed to fulfill his destiny. In the years of Voldemort's reign, he split his soul into seven parts. Two of the split souls, or horcruxes, have already been destroyed, but when all seven of them are gone, Voldemort will be able to be killed.

Harry grabbed the locket in his pocket as this thought crossed his mind. He had obtained this locket with Dumbledore about a month ago. This journey weakened the old headmaster, allowing him to be killed. The locket he's holding now was supposed to be a horcrux, but was a fake, planted where the original was, by someone with the initials R. A. B.

Again, Harry looked out the window to find a pink and gold sunset. He quickly finished packing, and rushed down the stairs, to find his aunt, uncle, and cousin, standing around a table with a huge cake in the middle. The cake read: Happy Birthday Dudley.

Harry groaned, which he knew immediately was a mistake, for the whole family snapped their heads in his direction.

"What do you want, boy?" yelled Uncle Vernon. "It is extremely rude to interrupt a family party."

There was a moment's silence, which was broken by Aunt Petunia's, "Well!"

"I've come to relieve you of your duties," Harry said.

"What do you mean 'relieve you of your duties," Uncle Vernon replied, with a small glint in his eyes, which Harry took to meaning that he knew exactly what he was talking about.

"I've been invited to my friends' brother's wedding, so I'm leaving," Harry answered.

"Are you coming back?" asked a very hopeful Dudley.

"No," Harry replied. "After tonight I'll be gone for good."

"Is that old man coming to pick you up again?" Uncle Vernon asked, his temper starting to rise just thinking about it.

"No," he answered simply, clutching the locket in his pocket as he did so.

"Why not," Dudley asked.

"Because he's dead."

At these words, Aunt Petunia gasped with shock and her eyes suddenly got wide. "No," she whispered.

"Yes, and now I must ask you a question," he said, with a note of determination in his voice. "Do you even care?"

"About what?" Dudley asked.

"About me?"

The whole family seemed at a loss for words. All were obviously taken aback by his question, but Uncle Vernon was the one to answer it.

"Besides the fact that you're leaving," he stated simply. "No."

"Yes, how could anyone care about a pebble in their shoe," Aunt Petunia added, while Dudley nodded in agreement.

Harry had a feeling that this was going to be their answer, but couldn't help feeling a little hurt and disappointment all the same.

"Well then," he said, his voice quavering a bit out of a mixture of anger and sadness. "Looks like we all finally get what we want."

He suddenly walked himself and his trunk to the door, and opened it, but before he left, he turned to Dudley and said, "Consider this seventeen years of birthday presents from me Dud," and on those last words, he walked out into the dark night.

**AN: Yeah, I know, short and nothing new, but I always like to review the actual story a bit before I start my own. Don't worry it'll get better soon. "how could anyone care about a pebble in their shoe," actually comes from the movie 'Ever After,' but I liked the line and thought it fit well with this chapter.**


	2. Dear Ol' Figgy

Even though it was mid-summer, there was still a cool breeze floating through the air. The mist was so heavy, that he wondered if he was going to be able to get to Mrs. Figg's house okay. Quickly, he put on his invisibility cloak and walked down the street to the house where he would be flooing to the Burrow.

Finally, he reached the house, and quickly knocked on the door. An old woman peeked out from behind it, and whispered, "Who's there?"

"It's me Mrs. Figg, now please let me in, it's chili out here," Harry answered, as the cold breeze sent a chill up his spine. The mist looked like it was getting heavier, and he knew why. The mist was actually the breeding of dementors, and they could probably sense his presence.

"First let me ask you a question," she responded, not noticing the annoyance on his face.

"Fine, but make it quick." He was starting to get worried that there were dementors nearby, who were just waiting for him to pull off his invisibility cloak.

"What were you and Dumbledore doing the night Hogwarts was attacked?" she asked, in hopes she would get an answer.

"Mrs. Figg-," he started. He should have known. Everyone he knew, besides Ron and Hermione, of course, had been trying to get him to answer that question for almost a month now.

"- Oh alright, alright," she interrupted. "What are you training to be, for after you leave Hogwarts?"

"I'm training to be an auror," he responded. "Now please let me in."

She opened the door for him, and said, "Alright, come in, come in."

"Thank you." Harry entered the house that he had been in many times before, taking in the usual smell of cabbage. He put his cloak back in his trunk, and started to walk over to the fireplace, when Mrs. Figg said, "Not yet, boy. Come here and have a quick cup of tea."

He set his trunk down and walked into the kitchen, where Mrs. Figg was brewing up a pot of tea. As he stepped into the light of the kitchen, she gasped.

"What's happened to you?" she asked him, as she looked at him closely for the first time. He was really pale, and had circles under his eyes. Normally, he looked kind of thin, but now he looked like he hadn't eaten anything in about a week. His eyes, which usually held spark within, looked sad and empty.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he responded.

"This is really hitting you hard, isn't it," she said, with concern in her eyes.

"What is?" he asked, knowing what the answer was.

"Dumbledore's death."

"Well, I suppose it's hitting everyone hard, isn't it," he responded.

"Yes, well, you know, everyone is very curious as to what Dumbledore was doing the night he was killed," she said. "It would be nice if you would just te-" 

"Mrs. Figg, all will be revealed in time, but right now it is better to keep it a secret," he replied. "And would you mind if we changed the subject, that topic is something that I don't wish to discuss at the moment."

"Yes, yes, fine," she said, in an irritated sort of voice. As she handed him the cup of tea, she asked, "Are you excited about your last year at Hogwarts?"

"So it's re-opened then?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, the governors thought it best to train the young ones, due to the current situation."

"Yes, well, all I can say is, it's going to be an interesting year," he responded to her question.

"You know," she said, "rumors are that you are the only one who can defeat You-Know-Who. The 'Chosen One' they're calling you now. Silly really."

At these last two words, she eyed him carefully, hoping to find a sign that this was true. But he refused to show any emotion, and quickly gulped down the rest of his tea.

"Yes, just silly, stupid rumors," he replied. "Well, it's been a nice chat, but I really think I should go now."

Her face fell. "Of course. Get your trunk, and step into the fire."

Quickly, he grabbed his trunk and dragged it to the fireplace. He wanted nothing more than to leave this place, and the questions that came with it.

But before he stepped into the fire, a hand grabbed his arm.

"Now you listen here, boy," she said, "I don't know if the 'Chosen One' theories are true or not, but promise me you'll keep safe."

"Mrs. Figg-," he started, but she cut him off.

"Now listen, Harry, you may think people don't care about you, but you are wrong," she interrupted. "The whole Order is worried that you're going to do something reckless, and I have to say, I don't blame them. Just remember something. Your mother and father, two of the sweetest people known to wizard kind, gave their lives for you, as did Sirius and probably Dumbledore. Don't risk their sacrafices."

Harry just stared at her. He never knew she cared so much. After a moments silence, he responded, "I promise."

"And you'd better keep it," she replied. "You know what I do to people who don't keep their promises."

She smiled at him, and, as he remembered the way she handled Mundungus Fletcher after he left to steal some cauldrons, while he should have been keeping an eye on Harry, he couldn't help but smile back.

"Oh... come here, boy," she said, and she gave him a small hug. This put him in a state of shock, for she'd never shown any liking for him ever, and yet here she was, showing concern and hugging him. When he pulled away, he stepped into the fireplace, grabbed a handful of floo powder, and said, "The Burrow."

The last thing he saw, before he left the house, was Mrs. Figg picking up her cat, and waving one of its paws, while saying, "Say goodbye, Mr. Tibbles."


	3. The Early Morning Talk

Even though he'd traveled by floo powder before, it didn't make the ride any more enjoyable. His elbows kept on hitting the sides of the fireplaces he passed through, and the smell of the soot was almost unbearable. The fireplaces were twirling and spinning in front of his eyes, causing him to feel sick. Finally, when the couldn't take it anymore, he closed his eyes, and when he did-

WHOOSH!!!

He went sliding across the kitchen floor of the Burrow. As he opened his eyes, he realized everything was all fuzzy, so he got on his knees and started looking for his glasses.

"Looking for these?" a voice asked. This voice, which was gentle as can be, sent shivers up his spine.

"Oh, thanks," he said, as he got up and put his glasses on. And there, standing right in front of him, as beautiful as can be, was Ginny Weasley. "Er… hey Gin. How've you been?"

"I've been all right," she replied. "A bit busy, you know, with the wedding plans and everything." Suddenly, her face showed deep concern. "What about you, are you okay?"

"I'm doing all right," he replied. "Been doing a lot of thinking."

"What kind of thinking?" asked a voice from behind him. He turned around and saw the whole Weasley family, and Hermione, staring at them.

"Just thinking," he responded to Fred Weasley's question.

"I bet I know what he was thinking of," said George as he eyed Ginny. "Or should I say who."

Harry felt a blush rise in his cheeks. He didn't know how to respond to that. Apparently they didn't know about the 'breakup.' Luckily, he was saved the trouble of answering by none other than Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh, don't tease them," she said, with a huge smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes that showed she had no objections of the relationship. Then her gaze fell back on Harry, and his pale and skinny form. A few moments past as the family resumed staring at him, until finally, Mrs. Weasley pulled him into a hug.

"Harry, we've been so worried about you," she said. "You're so thin, and you look so pale and tired."

"Mrs. Weasley, I'm fine really."

"Fine or not, you are going to eat, and then sleep, and I don't want to hear another word on the subject," she replied. "Now, everyone, to the kitchen, dinner is almost ready."

They all walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Mrs. Weasley made sure he had tons of food on his plate, but all he could do was pick at it. Of course, the family noticed this, but none said anything. After dinner, Mrs. Weasley ushered them all upstairs to bed, much to Ginny's displeasure.

Harry went up to his room and fell asleep, but as usual, woke up to drenched in icy cold sweat, after reliving the horrible events of the night Dumbledore died in his head. After that he couldn't get back to sleep, so his mind drifted to the usual topic: the four remaining horcruxes, and where they were now. It wasn't until he heard knocking on his bedroom door that he came out of his reverie.

He got up, put on his robe, walked over to the door, and whispered, "Who is it?"

"It's Ginny, now open the door, I want to talk to you."

Following her command, he opened the door to let her in, wondering what on earth she wanted this early in the morning.

"Were you even asleep?" she asked him, with obvious concern in her voice.

"Er… no, I couldn't sleep," he answered. "Now, what would you like to talk about?"

"That," she said. "No offense Harry, but you look horrible."

"Thanks," he replied in a sarcastic voice.

"No, what I mean is, you look so pale and thin, and you haven't been getting any sleep, and don't bother lying, because I can tell," she said all in one breath. Then, in a more gentle voice, she asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Ginny, I'm fine, now go back to bed, it's too early for us to have a chat right now."

"You're lying to me," she said in an angry voice. "You don't have to lie to me. We may not be dating, but we'll always be friends."

These words sent a cold chill up his spine. "Listen, Gin," he started. "I think I should explain myself a bit more about the reason I… um… postponed our relationship."

"Postponed?" she asked, a look of confusion on her face.

"Yeah, I never wanted to… I really didn't… or I didn't mean to… you know… breakup with you," he said, suddenly worried she might not feel the same way. "But I would completely understand if that's not what you want."

Her eyes suddenly grew wide. "Of course that's what I want. I completely understand what you're saying. Like I said before, at Dumbledore's funeral, you'll never be happy until you kill Voldemort." She said all this unflinchingly.

Harry was speechless. "You said his name," he said, utterly shocked.

Ginny giggled. "Yeah, I said his name. I don't say it in front of my family, because it makes them uncomfortable, but I know I can say it in front of you. Personally, I think it's stupid to be afraid of a name. Honestly, fear of a name, only increases fear of the thing itself."

Harry was, again, speechless. She had just said the exact same words Dumbledore said in his first year, when Harry called Voldemort by his disguised name: You-Know-Who.  
_'Fear of a name, only increases fear of the thing itself.'_

"I like the way you think," he replied with a small smile. "So, you're okay with our relationship being postponed?"

"Yes, I am," she answered with a grin.

After a minute of silence, Ginny got up to leave, and Harry followed her out. But just as she stepped out into the hall, she stopped.

"Wait," she whispered. "You never answered my question. What's on your mind, and don't you dare lie to me, because I can tell when you're lying."

Again, Harry opened the door for her, and again, she stepped inside. He sat on his bed and wondered if it was okay to tell her. Finally, he decided it wouldn't hurt if she knew his secret, and so he explained everything about the prophecy, his journeys through the penseive with Dumbledore, and ended with the four remaining horcruxes.

"So, the d-diary was a p-piece of Voldemort's s-soul?" she asked in a quavering voice.

"Yes, but don't worry, it's been destroyed, along with Marvolo's ring," he answered, seeing her pale face by the little light of the dawning sun. "The locket was a fake, so it's still out there somewhere, along with Hufflepuff's goblet, Voldemort's snake, and something of Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's, and of course, Voldemort himself."

"A locket," she said in a voice that clearly meant she was thinking out loud. "I've seen a locket before, but I don't remember where."

"You've probably seen the fake one," he replied. "I carry it around all the time."

"Yes, you're probably right," she said. Then, in a whisper, she asked, "So you're skipping seventh year to look for the last pieces of Voldemort's soul?"

"Yup."

She sat quietly for a moment, and then said, "I'm going with you."

"No, you're not," he replied. "In fact, right now, you're going to bed." The sky outside was starting to get lighter, and so he got up to escort her out of his room.

"Oh, and Gin."

"Hmm?" she asked.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone what we talked about. Promise?"

"I promise," she replied, and walked back to her own room, as he closed the door behind her.


	4. The Beautiful Maiden

The next week went by so fast, it was incredible. Mrs. Weasley was as bouncy as a bubble with all the wedding plans. She had Mr. Weasley and the boys magically build a white gazebo, and the second they were done she, Hermione, Ginny, and Fleur all started decorating it. When they were finished, they called the boys out to look at it. The second Harry saw it he gasped, for it had to be the second most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

White steamers had been hung all around it, and lit candles were floating all over the place, giving off a strong scent of roses. Fireflies were flying all around the gazebo, while the gnomes the girls had transfigured into fairies danced a gorgeous waltz in the air.

"Isn't it lovely," said Mrs. Weasley, with a huge smile on her face as she looked at the boys. Suddenly, she frowned as she saw the men's reactions. Fred and George making gagging faces, Bill and Charlie were looking at their feet, and Mr. Weasley was trying to hold back a laugh.

"What?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh mum," said Ron, in a disgusted sort of voice. "It's all girly." All the Weasley men nodded in unison, but not before they stepped away from Ron.

Harry looked at all the girls, and saw that they were all looking very disappointed. But it was Ginny's face that made him speak up, for he couldn't stand to see her unhappy.

"Don't listen to them, Mrs. Weasley," he said. "I think it's brilliant." He, again, looked at all the women's faces and saw that this simple comment had turned their frowns upside down.

"Oh, Harry dear, you are so sweet," Mrs. Weasley replied. "Ginny, you'd better keep him."

She looked at Harry and without any warning, walked over and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't worry, mum, I will."

The next day was the wedding rehearsal, and of course, Mrs. Weasley was in charge. 

"Now, Bill and Fleur's Mum will go down the aisle first," she said. "Arthur and I will go next, and then Charlie and Fleur's Cousin will follow. Fred and Angelina will go next, and then George and Alicia. Ron and Hermione will follow, and Harry and Ginny will go as soon as they reach the end. And then Fleur and her father will go."

"Vat about Gabrielle?" Fleur asked. "Ve can't start vithout zee flower girl."

"Oh, yes, yes," Mrs. Weasley replied, "I'm so sorry dear. Gabrielle will go right before you and you father. Is this all of this alright with you, dear?"

"It sounds vonderful," Fleur replied, and Mrs. Weasley beamed.

"Wonderful. Now, Bill, Fleur, come here," she said.

"Why?" Bill asked in a voice that clearly meant he was afraid.

"You need to practice dancing," she replied.

"Ah mum, come on, dancing," he whined.

"Vould you like some cheeze to go wiz zat whine," Fleur said in an irritated voice. "Come on, Bill, it'll be fun."

So, she and Bill stepped out onto the dance floor. On their way, Bill caught Ron trying to hold back a laugh, and he punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" yelled Ron, and he started to walk over to Bill with his arm pulled back, when Hermione pulled him back, and in a warning tone said, "Ronald."

Harry couldn't help but smile as he watched Bill and Fleur dance gracefully in the candle light, and he couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever have a wonderful moment such as this.

The next day was an extremely busy one. Mrs. Weasley made everyone get up and help her cook. Fred and George were not at all happy about this, due to the fact that they stayed up all night with the other men in the house, celebrating the last day of Bill's singleness. They argued with her for a long time, until finally Mrs. Weasley mentioned the word 'breakfast,' which made them get up in a heartbeat.

When Harry stepped out of his room, he was shocked when he felt little arms around his waist.

"Harry Potter, sir," cried none other than Dobby the house elf. "It is great to bees seeings you again, sir."

"Dobby," Harry said in a very groggy voice, "what are you doing here?"

"Dobby has come to help Mrs. Wheezy with the cooking."

"Oh," Harry replied. "Well, it's great to see you Dobby. Come on, let's go down to breakfast."

So, he and Dobby walked down to the kitchen and had a delicious breakfast, sponsored, of course, by Mrs. Weasley, before they, too, started cooking.

Finally, at five o' clock in the evening, Mrs. Weasley sent everyone upstairs to change. And hour and a half later everyone was ready. The guests were all in the yard already. Bill, like all the other Weasley men, was wearing black dress robes, while Mrs. Delacour was wearing a dark blue dress, while her hair was tied up into a tight bun, and together, they walked down the aisle.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were next, and Mrs. Weasley was wearing a green gown, with a white rose barrette pinned in her hair, which was hanging down. Together they walked down the aisle.

Angelina, Alicia, Clarice, and Hermione, were all wearing pale pink dress robes, their hair, like Mrs. Delacour, in tight buns. The last couple, before the bride and her father, was Harry and Ginny.

Harry kept looking at his watch, anxious to get started, but when his eyes fell on Ginny, time didn't seem to matter anymore. He felt like someone had punched him in the stomach, as she walked down the stairs. She was wearing and emerald green gown, which ruffled at the feet. Her red hair was pinned up in a bun, but unlike with the other women, two curls hung down, framing her flawless face. Her chocolate brown eyes looked deep into his emerald green eyes, and she smiled. As her smile lit up the room, Harry felt chills up his spine.

She giggled. "Harry, your mouth is open."

Quickly, he closed his mouth, only to open it again. "Ginny, you look wonderful."

She smiled again, and reached out for his hand. As they walked down the aisle, hand in hand, he was surprised to feel nothing. No embarrassment, no awkwardness, no nothing. Just joy at how natural it felt. It was bliss, walking down the aisle with her, like for once, he had no worries, no problems. It felt like…like he wasn't himself. She was beautiful, no denying that, perfect in everyway. _'She's the most beautiful maiden ever.'_

As he stood by Bill, he couldn't get his mind off of her. Even when Fleur stepped out with her father, in a silky white dress, with her hair in silvery curls, and her face behind a lacey veil, he couldn't get Ginny out of his mind.

"You may now kiss the bride," said the priest, and Bill kissed Fleur, making her his wife. When they broke apart, the reception began. 

Immediately, Harry walked toward Ginny and said, "M' lady, would you do me the honor of gracing me with a dance?"

"Of course, sir," she replied, with another giggle that sent chills up his spine, and they walked out onto the dance floor.

"You look absolutely radiant tonight," he said as they started to dance.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she replied in a soft gentle voice.

They talked a little, and danced a little, and finally, the reception was over.

As Harry was getting ready for bed, Dobby came in to take his dress robes. But before he left he asked, "Can Dobby ask Harry Potter a question?"

"Of course, Dobby," Harry replied.

"Does Harry Potter love Ginny Wheezy?"

Harry froze. He had no idea how to answer that question. But when he thought of her in her bridesmaid gown, and remembered her smile, her giggle, her laugh, he got this amazing feeling inside. It was like a firework had gone off in the pit of his stomach, and he couldn't help but think how much he wanted to be with her. But he couldn't, not until Voldemort was dead, and she was out of harms way. That's when he knew.

"Yes, Dobby, I do love her."


	5. Seventeen and Livin'

The next morning, Harry woke up to the smell of warm pancakes. He got up, got dressed, and walked down the stairs to find Ginny cooking breakfast to an empty room.

"Mmmm, smells good," he said and she jumped, which caused the pancake she was flipping to fly across the room, Harry pulled out his wand and made it float towards him, caught it, and took a bite.

"Even better in your mouth," he added, as the warm pancake melted like butter in his mouth. "I didn't know you could cook."

"Oh, come on," she said, "Are you telling me you thought I'd spent 16 years with my mother, without knowing how to cook. That's funny!"

He laughed. "I guess I never thought about it before." Then in a side note he added, "So, what are we having this lovely morning?"

"Pancakes, eggs, and sausage," she answered, "If my family ever wakes up."

"Let them sleep in," he said, "I wouldn't mind having a big breakfast."

She turned around and looked at him with a surprised face, like she couldn't believe what he'd just said.

"Not a chance, Potter," said a voice from the stairs. "Ginny makes such good pancakes; it wouldn't happen if your life depended on it. Smells good, Gin."

Quickly, Harry turned around to see Fred standing at the bottom of the staircase. Behind him was a sea of redheads, and a brunette, smelling the sweet air. It looks like the Weasley alarm bell had gone off.

"Oh man!" Harry said in a teasing sort of voice. "Looks like I'll have to suffer."

"Alright," Ginny interrupted with a smile on her face, "breakfast is served."

Immediately, everyone dug in, including Harry, which surprised everybody. It was when breakfast was over, that Harry was asked his usual June-July question.

"So, Harry, what do you want for your birthday?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Oh, I don't need anything Mrs. Weasley, thank you," came his usual reply.

"Oh, nonsense, Harry, what do you want?"

"Well… can you take me down to get my apparition license?"

Arthur was going to take you and Ron anyway," she replied. "There has to be something you want. How about we throw you a coming of age party!"

"No, Mrs. Weasley, thank you, but that won't be necessary."

"Oh Harry, come on, it'll be fun," Ginny said.

"I don't want to be a-," he started, but was interrupted by Ginny.

"If you say burden, I will slap you," she said. "You are not a burden, and we are going to give you birthday party."

He really didn't want a birthday party, for he just didn't want to look at the faces of all the people he'd be leaving. But as he looked at all the people at the table, determined to make him happy, he threw his hands up in surrender and said, "Alright, I give up. You can throw me a birthday party."

"Oh mum, we have to give him a birthday party too. Honestly, Harry, you are such a burden," Ginny said with a wink in his direction.

"Ha ha," he said, and gave her a small push, and as he laughed, the whole table was completely shocked. This was his first real laugh since Dumbledore's death, and it changed the atmosphere in the little room. For the first time in months, they had Harry back.

The weeks went by so fast at the Burrow it was amazing. Every time he, Ron, and Hermione were alone, they asked him the very same question: "When are we leaving?" And every time he answered with a shrug. He knew when he was planning on leaving, but didn't tell them because he had no intention on taking them. The only person he did tell was Ginny, because he couldn't stand to see her upset.

"When are you leaving?" she asked him during one of their many midnight talks.

"The night after my birthday party," he replied, and then added, "But don't tell Ron and Hermione."

"Why?"

"Because they're not going."

"No way," she said, "I am not letting you do this alone."

"I have to Gin," he replied. "Dumbledore wanted me to, and I'm not putting any of my friends in danger."

"But-," she started but stopped when she saw his face. "If you're doing this by yourself, then I want you to owl me once a week."

"Ginny, no," he said.

"Yes, I need to know that you're safe at all times."

"Tell you what," he started, "I'll owl you once a month, as long as you reply to Snuffles."

"Snuffles?"

"Yes, I don't want anyone to find me," he replied, "and only owl me as replies."

"Why once a month though," she asked.

"The owls have less chance of getting intercepted that way."

She pondered this idea for a moment, then nodded her head and said, "Okay, once a month, do you promise?"

"I promise," he replied. "Now you should get to bed, it's started to get light out, and I don't want to be called The-boy-who-was-murdered-by-his-girlfriend's-brothers-because- she-was-caught-in-his-room-at-four-o'clock-in-the-morning."

She laughed and got up to walk out of the room. But as she got to the door she stopped.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"I want to be the first one to say it."

"Say what, Gin?"

"Happy birthday!" she said, and left the room.

A few hours later, Mr. Weasley came in to wake up both Harry and Ron, and the three flooed to the Ministry of Magic to take their apparition exams. While waiting in line, Harry caught sight of a boy that looked about his age, and started up a conversation with him. Harry couldn't help but notice that this young man had unruly black hair as well, and he asked him if it was dyed, for he'd never seen anybody, besides himself, with hair like that. The boy said no, and said it just ran in his family.

"I get it from my mum actually," he said. "I hate it too. It always makes me look like an idiot when it sticks up."

Harry laughed. He didn't get a chance to finish the conversation though, for his name was called for the exam, and he had to leave.

The exam went very well. Both boys got their license, and both were extremely proud of themselves.

It took about a half an hour to walk to a safe place to apparate back to the Burrow. When they got back, and walked inside the crooked old house, they were bombarded with questions.

"What happened?"

"Is everything okay?"

"Are you alright?"

"Whoa, what's with all the questions?" Harry asked, all the voices starting to give him a headache. "We're all fine, look," he pulled out his license, "we passed the te- whoa!"

He was suddenly interrupted as Ginny pulled him into a tight hug.

"Oh thank Merlin you're safe," she said, while sobbing into his chest. "If anything would've happened to you guys…."

She continued to sob as Harry looked up into the faces of the other family members.

"What happened?" he asked, concerned about the person that was clinging to him.

"There was an attack about half an hour ago," Hermione explained. "Only one was killed."

"How did you find out so fast?" he asked.

"I was listening to the Wizarding Wireless Network," Mrs. Weasley replied. "Right in the middle of Magic Murder Mysteries a special bulletin came out. It said that a boy, around the age of 17, was killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's death eaters right outside of the ministry. All they said was he had a mass of unruly black hair, and I immediately thought you were hurt, so I screamed-"

"Which caused Ginny and I to see what was the matter," Hermione took over.

"And when mum told us-," Ginny started, then sobbed into Harry's chest again.

Harry was shocked._ 'Right outside the ministry? But I was just there, talking to that boy.'_ That's when it hit him. _'That boy. Oh my god. He was the one. Voldemort must have thought that that boy was me and sent his death eaters to kill him.'_ Suddenly, a huge wave of sadness hit him, until another thought crossed his mind. _'How did they know I was going to get my apparition license today? If they knew that, what else do they know.'_

"Ginny," he said gently, while patting her on the back. "It's okay, we're okay. We didn't see anything. Nothing happened to us. It's okay. Shh…."

Slowly, Ginny stopped crying, and looked into his eyes.

"I'm just so glad you're all okay," she said, while everyone around her agreed.

A few hours later, it was time for Harry's party. Everyone from the Order of the Phoenix was there: Kinsley, Tonks, McGonagall, and Lupin were the ones he was the most excited to see. Neville and Luna were also there. It had to be the biggest party he'd ever had.

The first thing they did was let him open presents. He got so many things, it was unbelievable. He got a book of magical plants from Neville, a book called 'Spaced by Time' from Luna, a snitch from Ron, an antique hawk feather quill from Hermione, a leather journal from Ginny, a bottle of disappearing ink from Fred and George, a notebook the marauders wrote in from Remus and Tonks, and a ton of other gifts. But it was McGonagall's gifts that caught everyone by surprise.

"Wow," Harry said after opening her gift. "Thanks professor. I have wanted to register to become an animagus, and this book will show me just how to do it."

"You're quite welcome, Potter," she replied, and then said. "And here's your other gift."

"Oh, thanks professor," he said, shocked she would give him two things. "That's very nice of you."

"That gift is not from me, Potter," she said. "That gift is from Professor Dumbledore. It was in his will for you to have it on your seventeenth birthday."

The whole room suddenly got quiet as Harry opened the mysterious gift. He was shocked when he found out what the gift was.

"Dumbledore's Pensive," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "Why would he give it to me?"

"Their must be something in there that he wants you to see," Remus said in an emotionless voice.

There was a moment of silence, until finally the oven timer went off, telling everyone that the cake was ready.

This cake was in the shape of a giant golden snitch. It was chocolate with butterscotch icing, and butterbeer was served with it.

Once everyone sat down, Ginny explained to Harry that it was wizard tradition to say a little speech at your coming of age birthday party, so he stood up and started speaking.

"Err… hi," he started. "You are all probably dying to know what I'm going to say, so here goes. Everyone knows I've battled against Voldemort a number of times in my seventeen years of life, and frankly, I'm exhausted." Many chuckles could be heard around the table as he said this. "But I couldn't have done it without help. So, I'd like to say thanks to everyone here at this table, for making this party possible."

Everyone around the table clapped, and then Ginny asked, "So, what are we toasting to?"

"How about," Harry started, while he lifted his glass, "to seventeen, and livin.'"

"Seventeen and livin,'" everyone echoed.


	6. Fear of a Name

After the toast the party guests slowly started to disperse, and soon only the Weasley's, Harry, and Hermione remained. Everyone helped clean up the mess, and then they all went to their bedrooms so the sandman could grace them with sleep. Soon every light in the crooked old house was off. All but one….

Harry desperately wanted to try out the Pensieve, so as soon as he saw everyone was asleep he picked it up to examine. Of course he had no idea how to make it work, but he intended to figure it out. He poked it, prodded it, and even pushed it away, although that was out of pure frustration, but nothing happened.

_I wish I could figure out why Dumbledore wanted me to have this,_ he thought, and just as the thought crossed his mind, a vision appeared within it. Excited and shocked at the same time he quickly dunked his head into the basin.

Suddenly he felt an amazing sensation, as if he were falling through space, not having any idea where he would end up.

Immediately, he recognized where he was: the gadgets, books, and portraits surrounding him told all he needed to know about this memory's setting. He was in Dumbledore's office, and, looking out the window, he noticed it was winter. Knowing nothing about what he was about to see, he turned around and jumped, for Dumbledore was standing right behind him.

Harry felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach. This was just too much, seeing his late headmaster right before his eyes. All he wanted to do was leave, but he had to know what Dumbledore wanted him to see.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the office door, and the memory of Dumbledore said, "Enter."

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore, Sir," said a young woman that Harry recognized immediately. This woman had a mane of auburn red hair, and eyes that were like emeralds. These eyes, Harry noticed, were just like his own.

"Ah, Miss Evans," Dumbledore replied. "How are you this evening? I've seen you in the library quite often lately. I certainly hope you head girl duties aren't too much to handle, what with all the homework you're getting this year?"

"Oh, of course not, Professor," Lily replied. "My school work and duties are not a problem."

"I knew I chose the right person for the job," he said merrily, his pale blue eyes giving their usual twinkle. "But if that is not the problem, then what is? Not Mr. Potter I hope."

"No Sir, James and I are getting on much better lately," she replied with a slight blush in her cheeks that made Dumbledore smile. "Actually, sir, I've been doing extra research, and I think I've made a possible discovery."

"Oh, please then, enlighten me," he replied, and gestured for her to take a seat. She immediately obeyed.

"You see, sir, lately I've been following the stories that focus on Voldemort, and, well, I find him very interesting." As she was telling the old headmaster her thoughts, Harry could tell that he was paying very close attention. "I've started studying him, reading newspapers almost nonstop, trying to find out who he is and why he, well, why he kills so much. It started becoming clear that he wanted to achieve immortality, so I started researching ways he could do that. Sir, it wasn't easy, there are hardly any books on the subject, but I finally found something. They're called Horcruxes, Sir, and they are made when a wizard or witch kills. Killing rips the soul apart," she explained seriously, and then continued, "I already knew that, but I didn't know that you could put that soul in an inanimate object. So I think that's what he did, or what he's trying to do."

"It was very clever of you to think of Horcruxes, especially since I've tried to ban all the books on them from the school. Many years ago, someone discovered them and, well, let's just say he put the information to use."

"So I was right, Sir?" Lily asked.

"Well, Miss Evans, no one can be sure, but I, too thought that Voldemort chose to make a Horcrux to reach immortality."

"Oh," said Lily, "I think you misunderstood me. You see, Sir, if he's already made one Horcrux, why would he continue to kill?"

"Miss Evans, I am afraid I don't understand where you are going with this?"

"Well, even though it's never been done before, I think that Voldemort may have made more than one. How many he made, though, I'm not sure."

Dumbledore just sat there in deep thought for a few moments, and then said, "This is a very interesting theory, Lily, and I do believe you're on to something. I shall look into it more, and get back to you."

"Thank you, Professor," Lily said, then started to walk out of the room.

"Miss Evans," Dumbledore said as she was about to close the door, "May I ask you a quick question?"

"Of course, Sir," Lily responded. 

"I've noticed that you speak Voldemort's name, and since no one else does, may I ask why?"

"Oh, well, I have this saying. Fear of a name, only increases fear of the thing itself."

Dumbledore smile and said, "That is a very wise saying, Miss Evans."

"Thank you, Sir," Lily responded, and she left.

Harry looked over at Dumbledore and saw that he was walking over to his Pensieve. He pulled it out, put his wand to his head, and placed the memory in the round basin. Then suddenly, Dumbledore looked into Harry's direction, and smiled. Harry looked at the professor, and smiled back, and before he knew it, he was back in his room at the Burrow.

Quickly, he set the Pensieve down, and rushed out the door to Ginny's room. He had to tell her. As he got to the door, he quietly opened it, and gently woke her up.

"Wha-," Ginny said, half awake. "What's going on?" That's when she spotted Harry. "Harry? What are you doing here?"

"Gin, you won't believe what I just found out." That's when he told her the whole story of what he'd seen in the Pensieve.

"So, Dumbledore didn't come up with the idea of more than one Horcrux, your mother did?" Ginny asked.

"Exactly," he replied.

"So, why is that important?"

"I have no idea," Harry said with a smile on his face. Ginny looked at him curiously for a moment, and then giggled. Harry was shocked at this, and his smile instantly turned into a frown. "What's so funny?"

"I haven't seen you so happy in a long time."

"Oh," he said, and he smile again. "It's just, Gin, I know this is important. I just know this is going to help my search. I don't know why, but I just have this feeling like it's important."

"I love seeing you happy," she said, with a huge smile on her face. "Now, you'd better get back to your room. You're going to need your rest for tomorrow."

Knowing she was right, he got up, and walked out of the room. And as he was leaving, he mentally thanked Dumbledore for that piece of information. He didn't know why, but this was very important. 

That's when something struck him. _'Fear of a name, only increases fear of the thing itself.'_ Dumbledore had said that in his first year, and Ginny had said it a few weeks ago, but neither of them came up with it. It was his mother; his mother had come up with that saying. _'A sure sign of power,'_ he thought, and again, couldn't help but smile.


	7. The Explosion

The next day Harry spent most of his time in his room packing. It was a long and exhausting task, but it had to be done. It was around two o'clock when Remus came into his room.

"Harry," he said as he closed the door behind him. "I was hoping I could have a word with you."

"Alright," Harry replied while continuing to pack.

"Well, Harry, after Sirius died, I had a responsibility that I did not live up to. You see, in his will he granted me your guardian.

Harry looked up at him, wondering why on earth he was bringing this up not, but after a minute, he continued packing.

"I know it's too late, but I want you to know you can always talk to me, not matter what," Remus told him.

"Thank you, Remus," Harry replied, folding and placing clothes into his trunk.

"Anytime, Harry, anytime," Remus replied, but then got a questionable look on his face and asked, "Why are you packing?"

"Oh, just packing," Harry answered.

"But why, you have another month until school starts again."

"Er…," was all Harry could say. He didn't know whether he should tell Remus or not. Remus was, after all, a Marauder, but he was also an Order member, who would tell everybody if he knew.

"What?" Remus asked again. "Harry I told you, you can tell me anything."

After a moment of arguing with himself, he finally made a decision. "Alright, I don't intend on going back to school."

"You… what?" Remus asked after a minute.

"I've decided to quit school and go out hunting Voldemort instead," Harry said, continuing to pack.

"Harry, no," Remus said. "No, Harry, you're going back to school so you can be an Auror. Then you can go out and hunt him down." He sounded as if he was explaining something simple to someone dense.

"No, Remus," Harry replied. "This is something I have to do, that I was told to do."

"By who?"

"Dumbledore," was all Harry said, still packing his trunk.

"Harry, Dumbledore wanted you to return to the school. He wanted you to finish. Why else would we keep the school open."

Harry froze. They kept the school open for him? Why just for him? He would understand if they wanted to keep it open for one more year, so people could get things straight, but they kept it over so he could finish his schooling. After a moment of thinking he continued packing, and said, "I understand everybody wants me to finish school, but nobody understands what I'm going out to do."

"Then why don't you tell me?" Remus asked.

"I can't do that," Harry responded. "But it is something that I have to do, and if I don't, no one else will."

"Harry, you just have to finish school."

"Somehow," Harry started, "I knew you wouldn't understand, and I shouldn't have said anything. Now you're just going to make it difficult aren't you?"

"Harry trust me, Dumbledore would have wanted you to finish school, as would Sirius and your parents."

"It doesn't matter what they would've wanted," he replied. "This is something that I have no choice in. It's destiny, Remus."

"Don't you even care about the wishes your parents had for you?"

"What wishes?" he asked. "For me to grow up, loved and not alone. For me to go to school and become something that makes me happy?"

"Well… yes," Remus said, sadness creeping up into his voice.

"Ha, that's almost laughable now," Harry said, beginning to get angry. "From age one to age eleven I was tortured by people who were, shockingly, my own family. After I went to Hogwarts, I started to learn was being loved was, but although I was loved, I was still horribly alone. Now for the first time, I am doing something that is going to make me happy."

"Oh, and what is that?"

"I'm going to kill the person that took away the dreams that were laid out for me from the moment I was born. That will make me happier than I've ever been before."

"Harry, I don't want you to go," Remus said, the sadness still held in his tone.

"It doesn't matter, you don't know the whole situation."

Suddenly, Remus walked over and closed Harry's trunk. When Harry looked up, he saw that Remus' teeth were clenched like the wolf that he sometimes was.

"You are to finish school," he said, all sadness replaced by anger. "You are to do what your parents wanted you to do. You are to graduate, and become an Auror, even if I have to lock you in here until school starts."

"Remus, I am of age now, you cannot control me," Harry said, anger growing in his own voice.

"I don't care if you're of age, I don't care if what you're doing you think is right, I don't care. You are being ridiculous, and I WILL NOT HAVE IT!"

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M GOING TO DO!" Harry yelled, furious that people were still trying to control him.

"HARRY IT WAS YOUR PARENTS DREAM, IT'S WHAT THEY WANTED MORE THAN ANYTHING!"

"TOO BAD THEY CAN'T SEE ME NOW, HUH? GOING OUT AND RISKING MY LIFE TO AVENGE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT THAT MONSTER KILLED!"

"You are being completely irrational, Harry," Remus said, finally gaining control of himself. "Harry, it was your own wish to be an Auror, don't you remember? What happened to that?"

"That died with Dumbledore," Harry replied, trying to calm himself down.

Remus seemed so stunned that he just stood there, staring at Harry. Finally, after what felt like an hour, he spoke.

"What about Ginny?" Remus asked. "What are you going to do about her?"

He'd touched a nerve. This was something Harry hated thinking about, something he was not looking forward to doing, but they'd talked, and everything was fine with her.

"It is none of your business about how I handle Ginny," Harry replied through clenched teeth. "Besides, we've discussed this."

"She's just letting you go?" Remus asked, shock written in every line of his face.

"It's not a matter of her letting me go," Harry replied.

"Don't you love her Harry?"

This caught Harry by surprise. He didn't know how to answer that. So… he lied.

"No," he replied, trying to hide the pain it caused him to say that.

"Liar," Remus exclaimed. Then, as he turned to leave, he stopped and said, "You know, James would've never left Lily," then he added, "And you will go to school, even if I have to make you." With that he stepped out and slammed the door behind him.


	8. A Ghostly Reunion

Remus made sure to keep his promise. The second he walked down the stairs he told everyone that Harry was not planning on finishing school, and from that moment on Harry was watched like a hawk. The only time he ever got any privacy was when he was in the bathroom. He planned to use this bit of knowledge to his advantage. But he had to wait awhile, for he didn't want anyone to suspect him. He figured one week would do. That would be just enough time to set up a plan.

The next day he spent in his room, holding Dumbledore's locket, while trying to write down a plan to get out of there. His first thought was apparition, but then he remembered that the ministry placed a charm on the house that prohibited apparition from inside or outside of the house.

His next was to jump out of his bedroom window and runaway, but that could cause injury and he wouldn't be able to look for Horcruxes with a broken arm or leg.  
Finally he came up with the idea that he could take Ginny for a walk, and escape then. The second this thought crossed his mind he laughed. No one would let him take a walk without a guard, not even Fred and George. It was after this thought that he knew he would need help. But he couldn't get it now; it would be too obvious what he was trying to do. He had to wait, at least for a little while.

Suddenly he got an idea. He pulled out his wand, and with it, began to inscribe the locket he held in his left hand.

That night, Harry got out of bed, walked to Ginny's room, and knocked on her door. Not two seconds later the door opened, and Ginny invited him in.   
"Harry," she said, "what do you need?"

"Ginny, Remus told everyone that I'm leaving, and now everyone is watching me like a hawk, and I just can't leave," he said in a frantic whisper.

"Well, what do you need me for?" she asked in the middle of a yawn.

"Gin… I need your help." And so the brainstorming began.

One week later Harry and Ginny were up in Ginny's room, discussing the plan to get Harry out of the Burrow, and out looking for what he needed to look for.

"Okay, here's the plan," Ginny said. "You will be up in the bathroom, while Remus is standing watch just outside the door. You will have your trunk already packed and hidden under the invisibility cloak. While you're in the bathroom drop the trunk into the bushes outside. Put on the cloak and wait until I give you the signal." 

"Meanwhile," Harry took over, "you will be downstairs. Suddenly, you'll want to go for a walk, and you'll ask your mum if it's okay. Right as you ask Hedwig, Pig and Errol will start fighting above the breakfast table. Remus will go downstairs to help with the fight, and you'll scream out the word, "MUM?!" 

"Which is your signal to come out," Ginny continued. "You will quietly walk down the stairs and out the door I will be holding open. When we get to the woods, you'll take off the cloak and leave."  
"Yes, but first I'll call my cloak to me," Harry added.

"Oh right, and then you'll… leave." As she said those words tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. Harry noticed this and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. 

"Everything's going to be fine, Gin," he said. "I will be fine. It'll all be over in… a while."

"But Harry, what if something goes terribly wrong?" she cried. "What if they kill you, then what? It'll all be over!"

Harry sighed and said, "That's just something I have to risk Ginny, Voldemort killed my mum and dad, a friend, my godfather, and now… Dumbledore. This guy needs to be killed, and at my hands."

Ginny cried then said, "I know, but if something happened to you, I don't know what I would do."

"Oh Ginny, please don't cry," he said, as Ginny continued to sob. "Think of it this way, when I kill him, it'll all be over, and then we can be together."

She sighed and said, "I guess you're right."

"Yeah…," he replied, and looked at his watch. "Merlin, look at the time. I need to get to bed. I have a long day tomorrow."

"Yeah, you do." She gave him a hug and said, "Goodnight." 

"Goodnight."

"Harry...," said a soft gentle voice. "Harry…."

Hearing this voice, Harry stirred, until he finally opened his eyes. Yet, when he did, he saw nothing but blackness. He reached for his glasses, only to touch an empty space, and find that he was already wearing his glasses. Then he heard it again….

"Harry…."

Getting a little scared he said, "Who's there?"  
Suddenly, right in front of him, a figure appeared. This figure was a woman, and was a woman that he'd seen, but only in pictures or in memories. This woman had long auburn hair, with a pair of almond shaped green eyes staring right through him.

It was his mother.

"M-mum?" he asked, the shock lingering in his voice.

"Oh Harry," she said, and rushed over to hug him. But when she hugged him, her body went through his. The joy that she'd had from seeing her quickly disappeared into sadness as it hit her that she couldn't touch him.

"The first time I see you in years and I can't hug you," she said, and then continued to look at him. "Sirius was right, you do look like you father."

"I'm always right!" said a second voice that made Harry jump. Suddenly, another figure appeared. It was Sirius.

"Hello, Harry," Sirius said, a smile on his face. "I've missed you so much, and have been busy telling your mum and dad everything about you." 

"D-dad?" Harry said, still not believing what he was seeing.

"That's right!" said a third voice that again scared Harry. Just then a third figure popped into Harry's line of sight, and again, it was someone he knew. Standing in front of him was a man that could be an older version of himself.

"Hello son," said James. "It's been a long time."

"Oh Harry, you look so handsome," said Lily excitedly. "Just like your father."

"Only better," Sirius added with a grin. 

"Hey!" James yelled, then paused and looked at Harry. "If I took that offensively, would it bother you?"

Lily smacked him on the arm and yelled, "Of course it bothers him! You just insulted him James!"

"Hey don't hit me!" James whined. "Hit Sirius, he started it!"

"Prongs, you would tell your wife to hit me?" Sirius asked. "I'm insulted!" 

"You should be," James yelled.

"No, James, he shouldn't be!" Lily yelled.

And so began an argument between the three ghostly adults. Harry just sat there, watching them all as if he were watching a tennis match.

'This is too weird,' Harry thought to himself while watching the argument. 'Everybody I ever was really close to is standing right in front of me. Well… not every–."

"ENOUGH!" screamed a fourth voice that interrupted Harry's thoughts. "Enough of this nonsense you three! You all are completely missing the point of this reunion." Suddenly a fourth figure appeared. This figure was an old man that Harry recognized immediately.  
With twinkling blue eyes behind a pair of half moon spectacles, the figure said, "Hello again, Harry."

"D-Dumbledore!" Harry said, not believing his eyes. "What are you guys here for? What point?"

"Well, Harry, we are here to help you with your perilous journey," Dumbledore replied.  
"You saw the memory in the Pensieve, did you not?"

"Yes, I saw it."

"Well, then you know of the kind of work your mother did," Dumbledore said.

"No… I saw it, but I didn't understand it."

"Okay, well, let me explain it to you," Dumbledore said. "When your mother was in her last year at Hogwarts, she did a ton of research about Voldemort and what he was after. That's when she came to me and informed me of her discovery of the Horcruxes."

"Not too long after our meeting I graduated," Lily continued. "I married your father and had you, yet I continued my work with the Horcruxes. It took a lot of hard work, but finally I discovered what they were, and there whereabouts. I wrote down a list of all this information, and was going to give it to Dumbledore. But sadly I was killed before I could give my list away."

"Wait," Harry said, "if Dumbledore knew about this list, why didn't he just go and get it?" 

"Because, Harry, it would be very stupid of me to write a list of such critical information, and leave it lying around. I hid it."

"Where did you hide it?" Harry asked.

"Inside a book of baby names," Lily replied. "Nobody would ever think to look there."

"Why are you telling me this?" Harry asked.

"Because your job is to go to our old house in Godric's Hollow and get it," Lily answered.  
"It should be in a baby book up in the attic, and it's on the page with your name listed. I entitled the list the "Soul Guide"."

"Okay, I'll go and get it, but it's going to be hard, what with Remus saying I'm not allowed to leave," Harry said.

"He did WHAT!?!" James yelled.

"Wow, that is very unlike him…," Sirius said. "I wonder why Moony is acting that way."

"That is not important right now," Dumbledore said. "Harry, you need to know who R.A.B. is."

"Who?!" Harry asked hastily. "Who is it?!"

"It's--."

The ringing of Harry's alarm clock woke him the next morning. He opened his eyes to find himself lying in his bed. After pushing the button to shut the alarm off, he paused and then threw it against the wall, causing it to shatter.

"Harry, wake up!" called Ron. "Mum's made French Toast!"

So, angrily, Harry got up, got dressed, and got ready to face his day.

**I'd like to thank my new beta AurorGirl101 for making this chapter possible... and I'd like to apologize for the long wait. So... I'm sorry.**


	9. Time to Leave

It was around lunch that Ginny signaled Harry that the plan was going to begin. So Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak and set it on his trunk, hiding it from view. He then bewitched it to move by itself. After he and his trunk got into the bathroom, he took the cloak off the trunk and placed a disillusionment charm on it. After the charm was placed he lifted the trunk and dropped it out the window. He then put the invisibility cloak on and waited for the signal from Ginny.

What was only five minutes felt like five hours until he heard the squawking of owls. Just as was expected, he heard the thuds of feet running down the stairs to help the frantic people below him.

'There goes Remus,' he thought with a smile. 'Any second now Ginny will give me the signal to leave.'

Just as that thought crossed this mind he heard the loud voice scream, "Mum!"

Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the bathroom and quietly walked down the stairs into the living room. As it was planned, Ginny was standing there with the door open. He stepped out the door and out into the glorious sunshine that he hadn't been in in days.

Ginny then closed the door, and stepped out into the sun with him. Together, they walked to the woods that stood on the edge of the Weasley property.

When they got to the woods and out of the light Harry took off the cloak, took out his wand, and yelled, "Accio!" It took about two minutes until his trunk came flying towards him.

After it stopped at his feet, Harry pointed his wand at it again and shrunk it. He took off the disillusionment charm and stuck the tiny trunk into his pocket.

When he turned to face Ginny he saw her leaning up against a tree, staring off into space.

"Gin?" he asked. "Ginny? Ginny are you okay?" He walked over to her and looked her in the eye. She just seemed to be staring off into space.

Finally she said, "What have I done?"

Harry just looked at her and said, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, Harry," she cried. "This could be the last time I see you. For all I know you could get killed the second you leave my sight. Harry… what if I never see you again?"

Harry didn't know what to say to her. He was also worried about never seeing her again, but he couldn't tell her that. So, he did the best he could do to comfort her.

He wrapped his arms around her and said, "We may never see each other again. For all I know, I could get killed in five minutes. But think of what'll happen if I don't die, if I kill Voldemort. Everything will be normal again."

"I know, Harry," Ginny said. "But one of my biggest fears is getting a letter at breakfast saying you were found dead in the woods."

"Ginny… that's something we'll just have to risk," he replied. "But if I do die, I want you to remember that I'll always be with you."

"Always?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied, and took Dumbledore's locket out of his pocket, and handed it to her.

She took it and read the words that he had inscribed on it a week before.

"Always and forever," she said, reading the inscribed words aloud. "Are you… are you giving this to me?"

"Yes," he said, and hooked it around her neck. "Therefore, even though I'm not there with you, you'll have a piece of me always there."

She looked down at the locket and held the heart in her hands. The words inscribed on it were so thoughtful and so sweet, they made her love him even more.

Not knowing what to say, she let the heart shaped pendant fall to her chest, and jumped into his arms. And then, for the first time in months, she kissed him. The kiss only lasted a few moments, but to them it lasted forever. Both of them had no idea how long it would be until they saw each other again, or if they would ever see each other again.

When the kiss finally broke and Harry stepped into the forest behind him, Ginny was silent. Nothing in the whole world could cheer her up now. Quietly, as she wiped the tears out of her chocolate brown eyes, she walked back to the Burrow.

As she opened the door of her cozy little home and stepped inside, she heard the loud voice of her mother.

"GINERVA MOLLY WEASLEY!" she yelled. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, GOING OUTSIDE ALONE, WITHOUT A GUARD?! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!"

Ginny just looked at her mother with a blank face. As her mum continued to yell at her, she continued to act as if she was listening. Really, though, she was thinking about what had just happened. What she could've just lost. It hurt her to think about, but she knew she would be thinking about it for a long time.

"WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?!" her mother yelled, waiting for her youngest child to answer.

Quick as lightning, Ginny started to cry. "Mum… I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I'll never do it again, just please let me go upstairs to my room."

The whole house was stunned by what they were seeing. Ginny rarely cried, and never cried when being yelled at. Instead of crying, she would yell back.

Mrs. Weasley just looked at her and said, "Yes, go to your room… and do not come out until I tell you!"

So the young red head walked up to her room, closed the door, and locked it. When she knew the door was locked and knew that no one could hear her, she ran over to her bed and cried. All she could think about was how she could've just let her love die. It broke her heart to realize that she might never see him again. As she wiped her tears she heard the clinking, and looked down at her neck to see the locket. She opened it and was shocked at what she saw. On one side was a picture of her, and on the other, was a picture of Harry. She started at the pictures for a few minutes, then turned it over and read the inscription. Hours past, and she was still looking at that locket.

Her mother came and knocked on the door. When the door didn't open, she yelled through the door, "Ginny, I brought you some dinner… in case you were hungry." When there was no response, she said, "I love you Ginny dear, and I'm sorry I was so hard on you earlier. I was just so worried." Again, no response, so she said, "Goodnight, Ginny dear."

A few minutes later, Ginny heard her mother knock on the Harry's bedroom door.

"Harry dear, are you okay?" Mrs. Weasley said through the door. "Harry, I brought you some dinner…." Just like Ginny's room, there was no response. "Harry dear, I know you're mad at us, but please understand, that everyone wants you to finish school. We're sorry you aren't talking to us, but we're only doing this because we love you." No response, so she wiggled the doorknob.

Ginny heard the door hinges squeak as it opened. She heard glass shatter, and heard her mother scream. She heard footsteps run up the stairs. 'Remus,' she thought.

"Molly, what's the matter? What's hap--," he stopped when he saw what was the matter. Harry's room was empty. His trunk was gone, his closet was empty, and his bed was made. On his pillow was a note, and Remus picked it up and read it aloud.

_Dear Family,_

_I'm so sorry. I know you guys are going to be upset, but I had to do it. There are lives at stake, and there are things I have to do. I know you all wanted me to go back to school, but it's impossible for me to do well in school knowing that everyone I love is in danger. Like I told Remus, Voldemort has taken many people from me already. It would kill me if he killed one more person._

_I know you wanted to go with me Ron and Hermione, but it would hurt too many people if you guys got killed. Plus, you guys are happy right now. You've finally found out what I've known for years. I don't want you guys to be ruined, and if you came with me, you would've been. Seeing all that will be out there… you guys don't deserve that. _

_Bill, Charlie, keep trying to get people to join the Order. It'll help in my fight. The more people involved, the harder it'll be for Voldemort and his death eaters. Bill, keep the goblins, they could be useful, and make sure that Fleur has the veela. Charlie, show no mercy in the fights. Use dragons if you have to._

_Fred, George, continue to make people laugh. That's what everyone needs right now. Laughter. The more people that laugh, the harder they'll fight to keep their happiness. Help protect your family, though, and make sure they all keep laughing as well._

_Hagrid, you and Madame Maxime should keep trying to get the giants on our side. They'll give in eventually. If we get the giants, we'll have powerful allies. Don't give up. Help Charlie with the dragons. He'll need all the help he can get. Maybe you'll get to see Norbert again. _

_Ginny, please know that I love you. You've helped me get through everything. You helped me when I thought I was a weapon. You helped me when Sirius died. You helped me when Dumbledore died. You've been there since the beginning. And I think you've helped me more than even you know. I'm sorry things had to be this way, and I wish it could be different. _

_Please know that I love you all, and I'm sorry I had to leave this way. Oh, Ginny, please take care of Hedwig for me._

Always,

_Harry_

By the time they finished the letter, Mrs. Weasley was crying. Remus was in shock, and wasn't saying anything. The rest of the family heard Mrs. Weasley crying, and ran upstairs. When they asked what happened, Remus handed them the letter. When they finished it, Ron was holding Hermione while she cried in his shoulder. Charlie was going to see Hagrid, and Bill was going to inform the ministry to start a search.

Fleur looked up from the letter, and said what no one else had even thought of yet. "What are we going to tell Ginny?" The family looked as if they'd just been punched in the stomach.

"Well…," said Remus. "I guess we should tell her when she wakes up tomorrow morning. That'll give us the night to decide what we're going to say to her."

No one in the house knew that Ginny was listening to every word they were saying. She didn't know how she was going to handle herself. She was the one that helped him leave, and no one knew that. Maybe they didn't have to find out. Maybe she could pretend to be just as shocked as they all were. Maybe… she could forget everything she had done. Maybe, just maybe, things would work out.


	10. Return to Godric's Hollow

The next morning Ginny woke up and walked down the stairs to a very tasty smelling breakfast. Everything looked so good. There were eggs over-medium, just how she liked them. There was bacon extra crispy, sausages that made your mouth water, and pancakes in the shape of stars, with maple syrup to pour over them. This would've normally been a welcoming meal, but that day was different. Everybody at the table looked solemn. There was no chatter like there normally would have been. The family was just sitting with their heads down, quietly chewing their food.

Ginny remembered what happened the night before, and also remembered what she was so supposed to do. She put a smile on her face, to act as if she had no idea what happened, sat down at her normal spot at the table, and said, "Good morning. Mum, the breakfast looks delicious! You really out did yourself this time! But… where's Harry? Is he upstairs still? If he is, I'll go up and bring him some food."

The people around her looked at each other, then back at Ginny. Mrs. Weasley said, "No dear, he's not up in his room."

"Oh?" said Ginny. "Well… then where is he?"

"Well… last night… last night…. we found a… a letter from Harry. It was on his pillow in his room."

"Oh? What did it say?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.

"Ginny… dear… Harry ran away yesterday. We don't know how he did it, but he's gone."

"What?" Ginny said, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. "What do you mean he ran away? Was his stuff gone? His trunk, his clothes, Hedwig?"

"All gone," said Remus. "He said he wanted you to watch over Hedwig." As he saw the tears in her eyes, he said, "Ginny we're so sorry. We tried so hard to keep him here, we really did. He just… found a way around us."

"Harry's smarter than he acts sometimes, Ginny," said Hermione. "When he wants to do something, he'll do it. You of all people know that."

Ginny just sat there, tears streaming down her face. She knew how he had got out. It was her fault. "May I be excused?"

"Yes dear, I'll bring you up food later," said Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny excused herself from the table.

As she was walking away, she heard her father say, "Poor child, this will torment her for… weeks."

"Months probably," said Hermione. "She won't be happy again until Harry is found."

"Lets hope they find him," said Remus. "The ministry has already got a search team ready."

Ginny gasped at those words, and ran upstairs to her room to owl Harry. He needed to know to watch out for ministry officials that were looking for him.

_Dear Harry,_

_I overheard the family talking at breakfast today. Remus said that the ministry is looking for you, so please watch over yourself out there. If you want to do what you have to do, then you can't be caught. Keep under that invisibility cloak. Make sure you stay hidden. Don't ever tell me where you are, in case the owls are intercepted. I'll watch over Hedwig like you asked. _

_Love,_

_Ginny_

She walked into Harry's room, grabbed Hedwig, attached the letter onto her foot, and said, "Hedwig, take this to Harry. It's very important, and please be careful." The pretty owl bit her finger out of affection, and flew out the open window into the blue morning sky. Ginny sighed and walked back into her room.

When he got there, she looked out her own window and whispered, "Please be careful, Harry, wherever you are."

It took three days for Hedwig to find Harry and give him the letter. As he read it he silently cursed Remus for making things more difficult. Now not only did he have to duck the Death Eaters, but he had to stay away from the ministry.

He looked at his dearest pet, stroked her white feathers, and said, "Be nice to Ginny, alright. She'll take good care of you, I know it." The bird bit him like she did Ginny, and flew off. Harry smiled and continued on his journey. He knew he should be getting close by now, but he didn't know how close he actually was.

Remus entered his mind again. Why did he have to make things so hard. He knew the answer. It was because he cared about him. But if he really cared, wouldn't he understand that he had to leave? Wouldn't he understand that he had things that he had to do?

'I guess not,' he thought, 'I never actually told him why I had to leave.' But still, he didn't understand it.

Suddenly, as his destination came into view, all thoughts about Remus exited his mind. There it was, right in front of him. The place where his destiny was decided. The place where his parents were killed. The place that the other residents in the town said was haunted.

"Godrics Hollow," he said.

He quickly walked over to the now deserted house. It took a lot of work just to open the door, but when he did what he saw made him gasp. The whole house was destroyed. Papers were burnt and strewn all over the house. Chairs and tables were toppled over. Electronics were cracked and broken. All glass objects were shattered against the floor. The cobwebs that covered the walls made it look as if the house hadn't been occupied in years.

'Sixteen years,' he thought as he climbed the stairs to find the attic. He walked down the hallway on the upper level and froze. There, right in front of him, was his old bedroom.

He stepped inside and shuttered when he saw what stood before him. Toys were in pieces on the floor. His crib was upside down, and a family of mice had made a small nest. He looked down and saw a blood stain on the floor.

'This must be where my mother…. She must have gotten hurt somehow on her way up the stairs.' He couldn't bare to thing about it. This house was just too haunting for him. He'd seen some pretty messed up stuff, but never did he expect to see anything like this. It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't keep having the strange but natural feeling that he'd been there before.

Finally, the room got too haunting for him, and he got up to leave. As he was walking out of the room, he felt a piece of glass shatter under his feet. Bending down, he picked up the paper inside the broken glass, and found a picture. He smiled when he saw who was in it. Both of his parents were in it, along with Remus and Sirius. It looked as if he had just been born, because his mother was lying in the hospital bed. His father was sitting on the edge of the bed, and Sirius was making silly faces at the tiny creature in Remus' arms. That creature, he knew was himself when he was a baby. He just stared at the picture, watching as Remus looked down and smiled at him. It was in that instant that all the anger he felt towards Remus disappeared. He really did care about him, and understood why he didn't want him to leave. It was out of love that Remus kept Harry at the Burrow as long as he could. Smiling, he took the picture, pocketed it, and continued looking for the attic stairs.

Finally, at the end of the hallway, he saw a small string with a ball hanging on the end of it. He grabbed the string and pulled down to find a staircase leading to a dark room. He walked up the creaking staircase, and entered the small room. The moment he entered the attic he started looking for books. It took forever to find the one he was looking for.

'Didn't know my parents were such big readers,' he thought as he went through his seventh box of books. He was getting tired as he grabbed the last book in the seventh box, and read it's title. "A Book of Baby Names" by Christine Wood. Excited he opened the book to the page with his name on it. There it was, like a jewel in a pile of rocks.

"The Soul Guide"

by

Lily Potter

For many years now I have sought a way to destroy Voldemort. I knew that he had to have protected himself against death, so I researched the ways to do so. It was in my seventh year at Hogwarts when I confronted the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, about horcruxes. The definition of a horcrux is an inanimate object that holds a part of a wizards soul. When a wizard kills another person, a piece of his soul splits. The wizard can then control the soul piece with a spell, and put it in an object. That way, if the wizard is killed by anyone he won't die, just have no body. I knew at a young age that he had used this form of magic to keep himself alive, and did the headmaster. Although, I was the first one that thought he had created a multiple amount of them. It took me awhile to figure out how many he had actually created, but when I learned seven was the most powerful number, I figured out he had created seven. I spent many years trying to figure out what his horcruxes were, and where they were hidden. It was during this time that I met a man, who prefers to be called R.A.B. R. A. B. was a former follower of Voldemort, and helped me in my search of the identity of the seven horcruxes. It took years to figure it out, but we finally discovered six of them. He hasn't had a chance to make the seventh one yet. Here is the list of the horcruxes and their whereabouts.

1.) Helga Hufflepuff's Cup---- located in the icy mountains of Lamont.

2.) Salazar Slytherin's Ring---- located in the Tallis Forest.

3.) Salazar Slytherin's Locket---- located on Misty Island off the shore of Misty Beach.

4.) Tom Riddle's Diary---- located in the Malfoy Manor.

5.) Rowena Ravenclaw's Hawk Feather Quill---- located at the Riddle House in Little Hangleton.

6.) Voldemort---- location unknown.

The destruction of all the horcruxes has already begun. Hopefully, Voldemort will not be around us much longer.

Harry was stunned. R.A.B. had known his mother. No, it was more than that. He had helped his mother. She was the one that discovered all of the Horcruxes, and he had been of assistance. But why couldn't he use his actual name. If he would've, it would be easier to find the locket's whereabouts now.

Quickly, he pocketed his guide, and left the attic. He walked out the front door of the house, and asked a local resident where the graveyard would be. The man gave him directions and he walked a ways to the graveyard. He spotted the grave keeper right away.

"Excuse me, sir," said Harry, "would you happen to know where the graves of Lily and James Potter are?"

The grave keeper froze and said, "Yes I do. Right this way young man." Harry followed the elderly man down the paths to the graves he was looking for. On the way he found a patch of flowers next to the bush.

"Sir, may I pick these flowers? I'd like to put them on the graves of the Potters."

"Of course, young man, that would be fine." They continued to walk down the path, until finally the old man stopped and said, "Here we are. Lily and James Potter. You know, their deaths are quite a mystery to this day. No one really knows what happened to them."

"Thanks, sir," Harry said, and the man walked off, leaving him at the graves of his two parents. "Hello mum, dad. Long time no talk. Well, I guess we never really talked to each other did we? I did what you wanted mum, I came to Godrics Hollow and found the guide. Thank you for telling me about that, it'll help me a lot. But I couldn't come to Godrics Hollow without saying hello." He paused for a moment, then remembered his flowers. "I brought you each flowers." As he bent down to put flowers on each of their graves, he saw a laminated piece of paper against his mother's grave. He picked it up and read what the words said.

_Dear Lily,_

_I'm so sorry. I just got the news about your death this morning, and it hit me hard. I know we were never close, and I know I wasn't the best sister in the world, but I still loved you. You were, after all, my only sibling. I will watch after Harry for you, I promise. I promised Dumbledore too, so I do intend to keep it. I just pray that someday they'll find the man that killed you and James and kill him. He's disappeared, I guess, which is a good thing, but still not good enough. Vernon doesn't like the idea of raising a child with… a gift, but I convinced him and he's okay with it. Just please know that Harry is in good hands with me. May you rest in peace._

_Always Sisters,_

_Petunia_

Harry was in shock. He had no idea his aunt had ever even cared about his mum, let alone written a letter swearing his safety. It was kind of nice knowing that he had an actual family member out there that cared about him, even a little bit.

As he stood up to leave, he touched his parents' graves. That's when his world went black again.

"Harry," he heard. It was a mysteriously familiar voice that he had heard just recently. "Harry."

"Mum?" he asked. "Mum, I did it, I got the guide, just like you told me too."

"Yes, Harry, but there is one more thing you need to know."

"What is that, mum?" he asked.

"R.A.B. is--"

"YOUNG MAN!"

Harry awoke immediately to find the young man yelling at him.

"Young man, you should know better than to sleep on a grave!" he yelled. "It is very disrespectful!"

"I'm so sorry sir, I just passed out," Harry said, annoyed that he had been interrupted in a very important conversation yet again. "See, I haven't gotten much sleep lately. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, indeed!" said the man. "Just who are you?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry sir," he said. "My name is Harry, Harry Potter."

The elderly man stumbled back a bit at those words. "Harry Potter? The son of Lily and James Potter? The boy that went missing when they died?"

"The one and only, sir."

"My goodness… I haven't seen you since you were just a little child. Your parents would come here every once in awhile to see the graves of some friends of theirs. They'd bring you with them and put flowers on the graves."

"Well, it's nice seeing you again, sir," Harry said. "But… I must get going. I have a long journey ahead of me, and I must get started."

"Yes, well then, goodbye, Harry."

"Goodbye, sir."

The man walked away and left Harry alone with his parents for just a few more minutes. Finally, when he realized that he wasn't going to get anymore information, he got up and walked away. But before he did, he whispered, "Goodbye mum and dad… may you rest in peace forever."


	11. Back to School

"Ginny dear!" called Mrs. Weasley. "Wake up! The train will leave in just a few hours!"

Ginny groaned and got up from her bed. She looked around her room and found all of her stuff neatly packed. Every since Harry left, she'd been so bored, so finally she decided on packing her school stuff. Her clothes had never been so neatly folded, even by her own mother. The Marauders Map was hidden below all of her things, that way no one would find it. Harry told her before he left to keep an eye on it, just in case there was another attack on Hogwarts.

As she stepped out of her bed and put on her muggle clothes she thought about where Harry was and how he was doing. She wondered if he had gotten his guide yet. That guide, she knew, was very important, and it would make his journey much easier.

"Ginny!" yelled her mum again. "Ginny get down here now! Breakfast is getting cold!"

Ginny sighed and yelled, "I'm up mum, and I'm coming!" She walked down the stairs, and saw her whole family bustling around the house. She just sat down, grabbed a plate, and made her breakfast plate.

"Ron, why aren't you packed?!" Mrs. Weasley yelled at her youngest son. "Why do we have to go through this every year? It makes no sense! Why don't you take a lesson from Hermione once in awhile?!"

"Why are you yelling at me so much this morning?! Ginny probably isn't packed either! Right, Gin?" Ron looked at her, praying that she wouldn't have her things packed either.

"Actually, I packed everything yesterday. I decided to take mum's advice this year. Too bad you didn't do the same Ron." She laughed at the look of frustration and anger on his face, and ate her breakfast.

"Go pack, Ron!" screamed Mrs. Weasley, and Ron bolted up the stairs to his room and began his packing.

Mrs. Weasley looked over at Ginny, sat down, and asked her, "Are you going to be okay, dear?"

"I think I'll be okay mum," she said. "He's not dead, after all, he's only out in the world. School will be great this year! I'll have a lot of fun classes, and I'll anticipate Harry's return."

"Yes, Ginny dear, but you must also think of what'll happen in case he doesn't return," Mrs. Weasley responded. "Don't get too optimistic, you may get really hurt."

"Molly," Mr. Weasley said, "I think it's great that she's optimistic. She's showing hope that he will come back, and that our world will be fixed soon. It's always a good thing to be hopeful."

"I guess you're right, Arthur."

"Mum, Dad, Harry will be fine," Ginny said. "He's strong, he'll make it. He saved the Sorcerers Stone, he saved me from the Chamber of Secrets. He saved Sirius from the dementors and produced a proper Patronus at the age of thirteen. He competed in the Triwizard Tournament as the youngest competitor and won. He fought the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries, and told all of us what to do in case of an attack last year. Mum, Dad, he was with Dumbledore when he died, he knows a lot more than you do, and you should both have a little more faith in him. I'm not showing optimism, I'm telling the plain truth. Just… have some faith. Things will work out."

"Yes, Ginny, but has he ever done anything without help? Think about it, dear, he has no help this time."

"Mum, I think he has a lot more help than you may think, trust me."

"Yes, but--," Mrs. Weasley started, but was interrupted by Remus.

"Are we ready to go everyone?" he asked. "Everyone packed?"

"No not yet," Arthur replied. "Ron is upstairs packing right now."

"Oh… well, why don't I go and help him?" Remus asked.

"No that fine, Remus, I'll do it," Ginny said, and ran up the stairs to her brother's room. She knocked on the door, and waited for a response.

"Come in," Ron said, and she entered his room. "What are you doing in here?" he said, anger in his voice. "Why aren't you eating breakfast?"

"I came in here to help you," she replied. "I'm… I'm sorry about breakfast. But you were trying to get me into trouble and it backfired on you. But I felt bad, so I figured I'd come in here and help you."

"Oh…," he said. "Well, thanks…." They packed quietly for a few minutes, and then Ron asked, "So how are you holding up?"

"Hmm?" Ginny asked. "Oh… I guess I'm doing alright. Looking forward to going back to school so I can get away from all the stupid 'trying to make you feel better' talks."

"Yeah…," he said. "It's kind of weird for me. This is the first time we haven't done our last minute packing together since I was in my first year. I never thought he wouldn't be here my last year."

"Oh, Ron, for Merlin's sake," she said, a bit annoyed, "he's not dead! I hate it when people act like he's dead. He's just on a journey. He'll be back. You'll see, he'll come back, and he'll be everybody's hero."

"But, Ginny… what if he doesn't come back?" he said. "What if we never see him again? It could happen, Gin! No one knows where he's at! The ministry has been searching for weeks, and no ones found him! Don't you think it's a possibility we could never see him again?"

"No, Ron," she said. "I believe in Harry, I really do. I know you and Hermione were supposed to go with him, but… he didn't want to risk it."

"We could've helped him, Gin," he said. "We were always there for him. We were there with everything he had to go through."

"Ron… have you ever seen anybody die?" she asked.

"No," he answered.

"Well… that right there is why he didn't want you and Hermione to go. When you see someone die… it messes you up. Harry has seen four deaths, not including the dreams he's had. He's remembered two of the deaths, and they haunt him every night. It's a very scary thing, and he knew that if you guys came with him, you would never be the same."

Ron was quiet for a moment, then finally he said, "I guess you're right, Gin. It makes sense. But… what if he doesn't live?"

"He will, Ron," she said. "Have a little faith."

Harry had never heard of the Lamont Mountains, but he figured he could easily find a map that told him how to get there. If he had a map he could walk there easy. Normally he would apparate there, but he made a decision not to use too much magic on his journey, because, as Dumbledore told him, magic can be traced.

He stepped inside a gas station and asked the manager if he'd ever heard of Lamont Mountain. The manager just laughed at him and said that Lamont Mountain was the coldest mountain around, and that if he was thinking of going up there he was crazy. Again, Harry asked where to find it. The man told him how to get there, and he exited the station.

As he followed the mans directions, he couldn't help but wonder what he was going to find up there. Was he going to find Helga Hufflepuff's cup, or was he going to find that it, too, had been moved? He shuddered at the thought that maybe R.A.B. had found and moved that too.

That made him think of who R.A.B. was. What was his mother trying to tell him that night at the graveyard? That was twice now that he had had a dream and been interrupted at a crucial point. It was irritating to know he was so close to something, and then have it be snatched away from him so fast. He thought of Death Eaters he knew with a name that began with the letter R, had the middle initial A, and had last name that started with B. He racked his brains, but couldn't think of anyone.

Suddenly, all thoughts of the mysterious man was wiped from his thoughts as he saw the huge mountain that stood before him.

'How am I going to do this?' he asked himself, and began his climb up the icy cold mountain.

"Firs' years!" called a familiar booming voice. "Firs' years, this way!"

Quickly, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron ran over to the giant.

"Hello, Hagrid!" Hermione said.

"Well, 'ello Hermione," he said. "Ron and Ginny too! How lovely to see you! But… where's Harry?"

The three shared uneasy glances, and then looked at Hagrid. How could he not know? Everyone in the Order knew.

"D-don't you know?" Hermione asked, and Hagrid's smile immediately turned into a frown.

"Know wha'? he asked. "Wha's happened? Is everythin' alright?"

"Hagrid… where were you this summer?" Ginny asked. "The whole Order knows, how could you not know?"

"I've been up in the mountains trying to gain the giants trust again," he replied. "Where's Harry, wha' happened to 'im?"

"Well… Hagrid… Harry… ran away during the summer," Ron said, while looking at his feet. "All he left was a note saying that he loves us all and he gave us instructions on how to stop You-Know-Who and his followers."

"HE WHA'?!" Hagrid bellowed, which caused the three to jump. "Wha' do you mean he ran away?"

"He just left, Hagrid," Ginny said. " He packed his things and left."

Hagrid seemed to stumble back a bit. "Why would he do such a thing? Wha' was he thinking'? He knows it's not safe out there for anybody right now, let alone 'im!" That's when Hagrid started to cry.

"Oh, Hagrid, things will be okay," Ginny said, and gave him a hug. "Harry will be fine. He's just got some things to do. He'll be okay, trust me!"

"Well, Hagrid, we have to go get on the carriages," Hermione said. "We're so sorry. We'll talk to you later though."

The three walked away, and Hagrid said, "B-bye you three!"

As they got aboard the carriages Ron said, "You know… I've been wondering. How do you think he got out of the Burrow anyway? I mean… everyone was watching him, it makes no sense."

"Oh, Ron," Hermione said. "I'm sure he just found a way out. Who knows how he did it? That's not what we need to worry about right now. Right now, we need to worry about finding him. Then we worry about how he got out."

"Yes, I guess you're right," he said, and the rest of the way they talked about little things. The Halloween Feast, the first Hogsmeade trip, Christmas, the usual stuff. Finally, the carriages stopped and let the three out. They walked to the entrance and sat down at their usual Gryffindor table.

Again they talked awhile until finally, Headmistress McGonagall brought the first years in. She set the stool down and placed the sorting hat upon it, just like she did every year. It was when the hat started to sing that the first years gasped.

Hello, welcome, to another grand year,

And as much I wish it were true,

There is nothing at all to fear,

For it's time for me to do what I do.

It is my duty to sort you,

And although I loath the thought,

You will do what the others do,

Like a fly, you too will get caught.

Oh, my friends, please understand,

The web has already been spun,

And although you are involved in a plan,

It would be best now to run.

The time has finally arrived,

For you to be sorted like the others,

And although some may think this is right,

I think it's time we come together.

Gryffindor, the house of bravery,

Sometimes hidden deep down under,

It might be where you will be,

And if so don't think I've made a blunder.

Ravenclaw, the house of smarts,

Where spells are an easy learn,

It might be here where you'll start,  
The wheels in your brain will turn.

Slytherin, the house of cunning,

They are definitely the sly ones,

Their spells will send the greatest running,

While they're here they learn tons.

Hufflepuff, the house of loyalty,

Where friends stay friends forever,

They may not be known as royalty,

But they'll always stick together.

I ask you again to listen,

To the words that I now speak,

These houses are different but must come together,

Like the words, "Nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak."

The whole room applauded at the hat's song, and then patiently waited for the sorting to end so they could get to eating.

It was after they ate that Headmistress McGonagall said the rules and told everyone who the head boy and head girl were.

"The Head Girl and Boy this year are Miss Hermione Granger and Mr. Ronald Weasley," she said. The two, of course, already knew this, but what with the depression of Harry leaving, they didn't want a celebration. "Prefects, it is them where you will get the house passwords from. And then you take the first years to their dormitories. Is that understood?" When the prefects nodded, she said, "Alright, and so ends the feast!"

With that, the students walked up to their dormitories, unpacked their stuff, and went to sleep, getting ready for another year at Hogwarts.


	12. Attero Animus

"Ron, have you seen Ginny today?" Hermione asked. "I haven't seen her since breakfast this morning. I'm curious to know how her classes were today."

"Err… I think she went to see Slughorn about something," he replied. "I'm not too sure though, because I saw her in the library today, too. I think she's turning into you a bit Hermione."

"Ha ha," she said, "very funny. But really though, I'm curious to know how her first day went."

"Well, check the library," he said.

"I think I might just go do that," she said. "Maybe we can study together." With those last words, she left the common room and headed to the library.

"Professor Slughorn?" Ginny asked after class.

"Well, Miss Weasley, how may I help you today?" he replied, getting ready for his next class.

"Professor… did you tell Harry what a horcrux was last year?" she asked.

"Why?" he said as he jumped. "Why do you want to know? I don't have a clue what those are!"

"Whoa, Professor… I was just asking if you knew how to destroy one?" she asked, trying to calm the Professor down. "I already know what they are. Harry explained it to me last year."

"Oh…," he said, calming down. "Well, Miss Weasley, I do know what they are, and I do know how to destroy them. Why do you ask?"

"Well, Professor, you see… I was looking in the library for them all afternoon," she said. "All I want to know is how to destroy them. But it seems like there is not a book in this whole school that tells what they are. Why is that?"

"Well, Miss Weasley," he said. "Dumbledore removed all the books that contained knowledge about horcruxes when he was headmaster."

"Professor, can you please tell me how to destroy one?" she asked. "I'm really curious, and it'll bug me until I know."

"Oh…," he said, "Well, it's quite simple. All you have to do is point your wand at the horcrux in question and say 'Attero animus.' When you say that, the soul that resides in the object will be vanquished, and it'll go back to being just an object."

"Attero… animus?" she repeated, and the Professor nodded his head. "Thank you Professor Slughorn! Thank you so much!"

"Your very welcome, Miss Weasley," he said, and she ran out the door.

Ginny was sitting at her desk, writing a letter to Harry, when Hermione walked in.

"Hey you," Hermione said, and Ginny quickly covered up her letter. "How was your day?"

"Oh… you know," she said, "Same old, same old."

"Yeah?" Hermione asked. "I heard you had to talk to Slughorn today. What about?"

"Oh… err… I just needed to ask him a question about homework, that's all," she answered.

"Oh… well why didn't you just ask me, I could've helped you?"

"Well… it was just a simple question really, didn't want to bother you with it."

"I see…," she said. "You know, Ginny, you can come to ask me anything, even simple questions. I wouldn't mind at all."

"Aww… thanks Hermione," she replied. "That's so sweet! I will next time, but right now I've got a letter to write."

"Oh? To who?" she asked, her eyebrows raising.

"Oh… an old friend of mine," she replied. "I figured it might help if I have a pen pal this year… might take my mind off Harry. I believe he's okay and everything, but still… I can't help but think about him."

Hermione sighed. "You're right. I can't stop thinking about whether he's safe or not. I pray he is, but… I don't know. I know what he's after though. He's after those horcruxes. Do you think he'll succeed?"

"Yes… yes I do," she said. "He's strong, Hermione, really strong. He'll make it."

"I hope you're right," she replied. "Well, Gin, I guess I'd better get going. I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Alright, Hermione, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

The second Hermione left the room Ginny continued with her letter.

Dear Harry,

I don't know whether or not you know how to destroy those things you're looking for, but I figured I'd help you there, just in case. I talked to Slughorn today, and he said that you have to point your wand at it and say 'attero animus' and it'll destroy it. I've been busy trying to talk everyone into believing that you'll be okay, while I try to convince myself at the same time. It's hard with you not here. The sorting hat song was interesting this year. It was weird though. It said something about "Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak." Do you know what that means? Well, I have to get going. I'll write you again soon if I can.

Love,

Ginny

After she wrote the letter, she walked down to the Owlery, and called for Hedwig. The white bird flew down to her and landed on her shoulder.

"Hey, Hedwig," she said. "I have a letter I want you to send. Think you're up for it?"

Hedwig bit her finger, which, Ginny figured, meant yes.

"Good girl!" she said. "Now, do you think you can take this to Harry for me? If you can I'll give you an owl treat!"

The bird again nibbled her finger, and again she took that for a yes. Ginny gave her a treat, tied the letter to her talons, and let her fly out the window. After the owl flew out the window, she walked up to the Gryffindor Common Room, up the stairs to her dormitory, relaxed in her bed, began thinking about when Harry would get the letter. She continued to think about that until finally she fell asleep.

Harry was getting tired. He hadn't had anything to eat since he started his climb up the mountain, and he was losing energy fast. As he got higher, the air got colder, and before he knew it, he was freezing.

Finally, after two days of climbing the mountain, he got so weak that he could barely walk. His foot hit a rock, and he fell face first into the snow. He lifted his head and saw that the peak of the mountain was in view. At the top was a huge boulder, and on the top of the boulder was Helga Hufflepuff's Cup. It took all of his strength to continue on, but he did. As he touched the boulder he felt snow crinkling. He turned around to find that the snow beneath his feet was disappearing, as was the ground he was standing on.

He climbed up the boulder, grabbed the cup, and raced down the mountain. Every step he took more ground would disappear, and he knew if he didn't run fast enough, he would fall down into the blackness that was taking the place of the ground.

Faster and faster he went, the golden cup in his hand. He was running so fast that he tripped and dropped the cup. Quickly, he picked it up and continued to run. The blackness was gaining on him, and he knew that if he didn't find a way to get away from it soon he would be a goner.

That's when it hit him. He pulled his shrunken trunk from his pocket and opened it to find his tiny broomstick. He hastily enlarged his broomstick, got on it, and flew up into the sky. Immediately, the blackness that was chasing his feet turned back into snowy ground.

He flew down the mountain at breakneck speed. It was the first time since Dumbledore's death that he had felt a little relaxed. Plus, he was ecstatic about finding a Horcrux. Now all he needed to know was how to destroy it.

As the base of the mountain came into view he slowed down. Finally he reached a patch of pine trees and hid behind them. Again, he pulled his trunk out of his pocket, shrunk both the cup and the broomstick, and put them inside it. As he put the trunk in his pocket, he began thinking how he was going to figure out what the spell was that would destroy the soul within a horcrux.

Just as that thought crossed his mind he felt a heavy white ball hit him in the head.

"OW!" he yelled. He felt his head to make sure he wasn't bleeding, then looked at the creature that had caused his pain. It was Hedwig. "Hey you! What are you doing here?"

The bird flew over to his shoulder and lifted her leg so Harry could untie the letter.

The moment he saw who it was from he smiled. "Another message from Ginny, huh? What does she have to say?" As he read the letter he felt a huge smile spread across his face. "Thanks, Hedwig! This message was really important!" The bird got excited, and bit his finger. "Hey, Hedwig, you want to watch me destroy the first horcrux?" Again the bird bit his finger, and he took that as a yes.

Harry pulled out his shrunken trunk for the second time that day, opened it and pulled out the tiny golden cup. He enlarged it, put it in his hands, pulled out his wand, pointed it at the object, and said the magic words.

"Attero animus!" he said, and the effect was immediate. The cup began to shake, and a huge green light came out of it. In the light was a small movie of the person he killed to make that horcrux. As soon as the person fell to the floor, the light disappeared, and a crack was shown where the light came from. Harry laughed and said, "One down, Hedwig, four to go!"


	13. Little Hangleton

"Hey Ginny, we're hungry, you want to come down to the kitchen with us?" Ron asked as him and Hermione were on their way out the portrait hole.

"Yeah," she replied. "Yeah, you know, I am kind of hungry. A pumpkin pasty with a good butter beer sounds kind of good."

"Well, then come on," Hermione said. "We're not getting any younger."

Ginny laughed at the muggle saying and joined the couple to the kitchens. As they walked down there they talked about many things. School, family, friends, and Harry.

"I wonder where he is?" Hermione said. "You think the ministry has had any tips yet?"

"Well, I haven't heard anything," Ginny replied. "I read the paper everyday, just in case… well you know."

"We understand, Ginny, we're worried about him too," said Hermione. "We're worried about all the others too."

"Oh, I got a letter from Mum today!" Ron said. "She told me that everything is going okay at home. Remus and Tonks are officially engaged, and… Fleur is pregnant!"

Both Ginny and Hermione squealed at those words. The second he said that Fleur was pregnant she realized that in just a few months she would be an aunt. She also thought of Tonks. Awesome Tonks, who finally was getting what she wanted. Maybe Tonks would make her a bridesmaid. But she knew there was no way Remus would have the wedding without Harry.

As if she read her mind, Hermione said, "Do you think Remus will have the wedding without Harry? I mean, he is, after all, his best friends son."

"I doubt he will," said Ginny. "I don't know if you two knew this, but Remus is Harry's guardian."

At these words, both Ron and Hermione looked at her. They obviously didn't know that bit of information.

"No way!" Hermione exclaimed. "I had no idea! I knew Remus was protective of Harry, but I didn't know that he was Harry's guardian!"

"Wow!" said Ron. "That explains so much. Now we know why Remus was so keen on Harry going back to school." He paused for a moment, then said, "Why didn't Harry tell us?"

"Well, he didn't really know until a week before he ran away," Ginny said. "Remus told him when Harry told Remus he wasn't going back to school."

"We had no idea!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes, well," Ginny said, thinking of how she was the one who helped Harry out of the house. "There's a lot you two don't know."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ron asked.

"Nothing," Ginny said, "just forget I said anything, okay?" When Ron and Hermione both looked at her curiously, she said, "Oh look, there's the portrait of the fruit." She jumped up, tickled the pear, and said, "Come on, lets get something to eat."

The moment they entered the kitchens, two house elves greeted them.

"Miss Wheezy! Mr. Wheezy! Miss Granger! Dobby hasn't seen you since Mr. Wheezy's wedding!" said Dobby. "How is you three? Where is Mr. Harry Potter?"

"Hello, Dobby," Ginny said. "Harry isn't here with us. He quit school this year to go out and fight Vol-- I mean, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"You mean… Dobby will not be's seeing him this year?"

"No, Dobby, I'm sorry," Hermione said. "But we're here! We came down here to see you!"

"And to get something to eat," Ron said, and Hermione nudged him in the ribs. "Ow! But mostly we came here to see you, Dobby."

"You and Winky," Ginny said. "Hello, Winky, how have you been lately?"

"Oh… Winky has been doings fine," Winky said. "Winky is cooking for students at the school, and she talks to Dobby a lot!"

"I'm so glad to hear you're doing better, Winky!" Hermione said. "Now, do you have anything for us to eat?"

"Of course we do, Miss Granger," Dobby said. "What do you three want?"

"Oh, can I have some Pumpkin Pasties and some Butter Beer please?" Ginny asked. "I just want a snack."

"We'll have what Ginny is having, okay Dobby?" Ron said.

"Whatever Harry Potter's friends want, Harry Potter's friends get!" Dobby said, and he rushed to get them their food.

It only took a few minutes for the house elves to get them their food, and it took a few minutes to eat it. After they finished eating the three got up to leave. Ginny was following after Ron and Hermione when Dobby pulled on her robe.

She turned around and said, "Yes, Dobby?"

Dobby gestured with his finger for her to come closer so she best down and put her ear to his mouth so he could whisper to her.

"Mr. Harry Potter says he loves Miss Wheezy," he said.

"Oh really?" Ginny said. "And how did you find that out, Dobby?"

"Why, Dobby asked him, Miss Wheezy!" he said. "Dobby says, 'do you love Miss Wheezy?' and he says, 'Yes I do love her.' I just thought Miss Wheezy should know that."

Ginny was shocked that Harry would tell Dobby this piece of information. She smiled at him and said, "Thank you, Dobby. Thank you for telling me that." She gave him a small hug, he beamed at her, and she left the kitchens.

Dear Harry,

You won't believe what Mum told Ron! Fleur is pregnant! I'm going to be an aunt! Isn't that great?! Oh and Remus and Tonks are engaged! I know that there's no way Remus will have the wedding without you there though. He was kind of down last time I saw him. I think he feels bad that you're gone. He really wanted you to go back to school. Well… he was your guardian. But I guess, when you found out, you were of age, so it didn't really matter. Still though, he feels terrible. Ron, Hermione, and I went down to the kitchens earlier and visited Dobby and Winky. We had Pumpkin Pasties and Butter Beer, and talked to the house elves. They're all doing great, especially Winky. But you know, Dobby told me the strangest thing tonight. Well, I'd better get going, but I'll write you again soon.

Love,  
Ginny

PS

I love you, too!

She walked down to the owlery, called Hedwig down, gave her a treat while she tied the letter to her foot, and told Hedwig to send the letter to Harry. The Snow Owl flew out the open window and Ginny went back to her dormitory to go to sleep.

Harry was making his way to Little Hangleton to find Ravenclaw's Hawk Feather Quill. He had no idea just how far away Little Hangleton was, but when he got there he knew immediately where he was. The Riddle House looked so familiar, because he'd dreamt about it before. The house had vines growing all over it, and looked as if no one had mowed the grass in a long time. He entered the house with no problems, and that's when the search began. He tore that house apart looking for that quill. For a week straight he'd looked in all the rooms in the house, but still he found nothing.

Every night he'd go down to a restaurant and have dinner, and when he'd go back to the Riddle House he'd look for the quill again. Finally one night, Hedwig arrived, and he decided to take a break from his search to read Ginny's letter.

When he read the news about Remus and Tonks getting engaged he was happy. Remus was, after all, his guardian, and he couldn't wait until all things were said and done, so he could go to the wedding. He was also surprised about Fleur being pregnant. It was great that Ginny was going to be an aunt, and Ron was going to be an uncle. But it was the last part that made him smile the most. He couldn't wait until he could go home so he could hear her say it to his face.

For the first time since his journey began, he decided he should write Ginny. He pulled out his quill that Hermione bought him for his birthday and began writing.

Dear Ginny,

It's great to hear that everyone's doing good. I'm so happy to hear that Remus and Tonks are engaged, and that Fleur is pregnant. Thanks for that spell you gave me. It actually helped me a lot already. One down, Gin! I'm sorry I haven't kept my promise and written more often, but I've been very busy. I always read your letters though. I'm glad to hear that Dobby and Winky are doing good. I wish I could see them right now. Actually, right now I wish I could call it quits and come back to you guys. I'm at a loss right now, I can't seem to find out where the next object is. Oh and by the way, I did get my guide, and I do know where the sorting hat got the words "Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak." Dumbledore said it when I was a first year and was getting sorted. What it means though, I haven't the foggiest idea. Well, I should get going, but I love you and I'll write you again later! Oh and have a happy Christmas!

Always Yours,

Harry

He tied the letter onto Hedwig's foot and said, "I'm sorry, girl, but I don't have a treat for you this time. I'll give you a bunch of treats when I come home, though, okay?"

The owl nodded her head, let him stroke her feathers, and flew out the window.

Harry set down the quill again and started thinking. Where on earth could that horcrux be? The guide said it was in the house, and unless it had been moved, it should've still been there. He put his head on the table out of frustration and began thinking some more. As he turned his head he saw the quill he had just used to write to Ginny, and he felt as if his heart had stopped.

He picked it up, as if it were a piece of gold, and looked at it. He couldn't believe it. The item he was looking for was in his trunk the whole time. Just like he did with Helga Hufflepuff's cup, he took out his wand, pointed it at the quill, and said, "Attero animus!"

Again, just like the cup, a huge light came out of the quill. In the light showed just how the person the horcrux was made from died. When the person fell to the floor the light disappeared, and in it's place was a very tiny crack on the stem of the quill, barely visible.

At this point, Harry was breathing heavily. When he realized what had just happened he screamed, "YES!" His whole journey just got brighter as he realized that his quest was part way over. That happiness didn't last too long, however, before he realized that he still had no clue who R.A.B. was, or where he could find the locket. Since he wanted to get out of the haunting Riddle House, yet had no clue where he was supposed to go, he decided that the best place would have to be Grimmauld Place.

And so, since he knew Grimmauld Place was far away, he got up, shrunk his trunk, and started his walk to London.


	14. The Truth Comes Out

It took a week for Harry's letter to reach Ginny. She was ecstatic to read that he was doing okay and that he had already destroyed one horcrux. She couldn't wait for him to get home so they could celebrate his return.

No one could believe just how fast the school year was going by. Before they knew it, it was Christmas, and they were being scheduled to go back to the Burrow. They packed their things, hopped aboard the train, and went back home. It took awhile, but when they left the train and saw their family they couldn't help but run over to them.

Mrs. Weasley pulled all three of them into a big hug and said, "Oh, I missed you three!"

"We all did, Molly," Mr. Weasley said. "Come on kids, lets get into the car and then we'll talk about how school is going."

When they all got into the car they began discussing how their year was going. Ginny told them that she'd just passed a Potions test with an O. Hermione told them that she was working on her Defense Against the Dark Arts training. Ron explained how he was getting E's in Charms.

"That's great you three!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "I'm so proud of all of you! And I expect you've heard the news about Fleur being pregnant, and Remus and Tonks getting engaged?"

"Of course!" Hermione said. "We were so excited! When are Remus and Tonks getting married?"

"Well," Mr. Weasley said, "Remus doesn't want to have a wedding without Harry there. He says he wants Harry to be his best man. But still, no one knows where Harry is. No one has heard from him at all. Remus is… not handling that very well. He's been very down lately. I expect he proposed to Tonks to make things a little better, but it's not really working for him."

"Aww, poor Remus," Hermione said. "None of us have heard from Harry either. We thought maybe he would contact us, but… nothing."

"Maybe that's a good sign!" Ginny yelled. "Maybe it's good we're not hearing from him. Maybe it means that he's doing good, and he's too busy to write to us!"

"Well, I guess it could be a good thing, but we don't know," Mrs. Weasley said. "The ministry hasn't heard from him at all either. Every once in awhile they'll get a trace of magic from him, but other than that, nothing."

"Well, I'm sure Harry is fine," Ginny said.

"We hope you're right, Ginny dear," Mrs. Weasley replied.

"Trust me, Mum," Ginny said, and they were quiet the rest of the ride.

Harry was sitting down over a camp fire. He'd started it with just a sticks and twigs, and he was pretty proud of himself. It was winter time and it was cold outside, so it was vitally important that he started a fire before he froze to death.

Ever since he started his quest he hadn't got much sleep. With the warmth of the fire and the peacefulness of the outside, he fell asleep.

"Harry," said that mysterious voice. "Harry, look at me."

"Dad?" Harry asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Lily!" James called. "Lily, he's sleeping, quick!"

The image of his mother appeared right in front of his eyes. She looked like she'd been waiting for a moment when he was peacefully sleeping to enter his dreams again.

"Harry!" she exclaimed. "Oh, Harry, thank goodness! I've been waiting for you. I'm so sorry we keep getting interrupted."

"It's okay, Mum," he said. "There's no one here right now, just me in the woods."

"That is such good news!" she said. "Harry, I need to tell you. When I was writing 'The Soul Guide' I had help. He was my spy and he was the one that gave me all the information I needed."

"R.A.B. right?" he asked.

"That's right," she said. "But he moved the locket, and now it's the last thing you need. It's not on the list, but you can find it. You just need to know who R.A.B. is!"

"Well, who is he?!" he asked.

"R.A.B. is--"

Harry woke up to the smell of smoke. He looked around and found that his cloak was on fire. Quick as lightning he got up, took off his cloak, threw it over his fire, and stamped on it, causing it to go out. When he bent down and looked at his cloak he was frustrated to find that it was destroyed. Annoyed, he threw the cloak to the ground, got up, and continued his walk to London.

It was a week into their Christmas break, and still none of them had seen Remus.

"No one sees him very often anymore," Tonks said when Ginny asked about him. "He came out one day to propose to me, but that was the last time even I'd seen him. Frankly, I'm worried about him. He barely eats or sleeps. I mean, even you're handling the situation okay, Ginny, and you're Harry's girlfriend."

"Yeah…," she said. "Hey, Tonks, do you think he'd get angry if Ron, Hermione, and I went up to see him?"

"Oh no!" Tonks said. "He wouldn't mind at all! Right now, the only reason why I don't go up there is because I'm afraid to see him in the condition he's in. But you three can go ahead."

So Ron, Hermione, and Ginny walked up the stairs to Remus' room. They paused for a moment, then knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice said from inside, and they opened the door. What they saw made them all shudder. Remus was sitting in a chair by his window, deep in thought. He had dark bags under his eyes, and his skin looked extremely pale. If they didn't know any better, they'd say the full moon was coming up, but that was impossible. The full moon was two weeks away.

"Hi, Remus," Hermione said. "It's nice to see you again!"

"It's nice to see you too, Hermione," he said. "How are you three doing? Haven't seen you in a while. How has school been?"

"School's okay," Ron said. "We're all doing pretty good. Getting pretty good marks. How have you been?"

"Tired," Remus responded. "Very tired. Haven't got much sleep lately."

"Yeah, we noticed," Ron said, and Hermione nudged him. "Ow! Not that you look bad or anything. You look great! We heard about you and Tonks! That's great, really wonderful!"

"Ron, you don't have to lie to me," he said. "I know I don't look like a prince at the moment."

They paused for a moment. Then Ginny said, "It's been hitting you hard hasn't it?" Ron and Hermione both looked at her like she was crazy.

"It has," he said. "You know… I had my reasons for protecting Harry. He was in danger, he had to finish school! He's… he's the only thing I have left." The three were a bit surprised by this comment. "Harry is all that's left. James and Lily are both gone. Peter betrayed us. Sirius is gone. Even Dumbledore is gone. They were the ones who understood me when I was growing up, they were the ones I talked to. I was protecting Harry because if he goes… that's it."

This was the first time since she had left for school that Ginny felt guilty. It was because of her that Remus wasn't getting any sleep. It was because of her that he wasn't going outside. It was because of her that he hadn't been eating.

"And you know," he continued, "I tried so hard. I gave it all I had to keep him in this house, to force him to go back to school. But he still escaped. I just don't understand it. How could he have done it? What did I miss? It's been driving me crazy."

Ron and Hermione both looked at their feet, but Ginny was thinking hard. Finally, she came to her conclusion. She got up, walked to her room, pulled out Harry's letter he sent her recently, walked back into Remus' room, and handed it to him.

He looked up at her and said, "What's this?"

"It's a letter," she said. "I got it last week, before I left for school."

Ron and Hermione looked at her with curious looks on their faces.

"But… nobody can reach him," he said. "How… I don't understand."

"I've been sending him letters for awhile now," she said. "He knows about you and Tonks, and about Fleur being pregnant."

"I don't understand," he said. "Why would he accept letters from you, but nobody else."

"Because…," she paused here, wondering if she should go any further. "Because I helped him leave. I came up with the plan that he used to leave the house."

Ron and Hermione's jaw dropped, and Remus looked stunned. "Ginny," he said. "Why? Do you know what you could've done!"

"Do you know what he's doing?!" she said. "No you don't! You have no idea how much what he's doing at this very instant can change the world!" Remus looked angrier than she'd ever seen him look. "He's the one, Remus! He's the one! That's why he can't go back to school!"

"He's… he's the one?" Remus said, now less angry. "He's… he's the one? The one that has to… to…?" Ginny just looked at him and nodded. Remus just laughed, looked up at the ceiling, and said, "Only Lily and James' would produce a son that would have to save the world!"

"Now do you understand, Remus?" Ginny asked. "Harry is going out to find a way to vanquish Voldemort."

Remus looked at her and said, "Yeah, I understand. But the thing is… if Harry dies, he'll die thinking I'm angry at him."

"Don't think like that!" she said. "Harry will live, and the world will be peaceful, just like everyone wants. Just think positively."

"You're right, Ginny," he said. "We've just got to believe in him!"

"That's right!" she exclaimed. "Finally, someone who understands!"

"You know what?" he said. "Why don't we go downstairs and see what your mum has made for supper."

And so, together, they walked down the stairs to the dinner table.

"Remus!" Tonks yelled. "You've come out of your room!"

"Yes, I have," he said, grabbing hold of Tonks. "And I think things will be a lot better from now on, now that the truth has come out."


	15. Always and Forever

It was a month after Ginny had told Remus the truth, and still Harry had not been found. He hadn't even written to Ginny, and that scared her. But she wasn't giving up hope that he was still out there, doing what he needed to do. She had been spending a lot of time with Ron and Hermione, and felt like she was being a third wheel. When she shared this with Hermione though, she got a totally different answer.

"Oh, Ginny, of course you're not being a third wheel," Hermione exclaimed. "We'd rather you hang out with us than not. It's dangerous right now, Ginny. Even at Hogwarts no one is safe. Ron is scared to death that because you're seeing Harry, he might lose you. He almost lost you once, remember? He doesn't want to ever go through that again, so he wants you with us."

"Well… okay Hermione, but if you guys ever just want to be alone, please tell me, and I'll go do my school work."

"Ginny… like I said, we don't care," Hermione replied. "We want to make sure you're safe at all times."

"Thanks Hermione," Ginny said, and hugged her best friend. She felt so touched that they cared about her this much. That they would lose time together to make sure she stayed safe. It bothered her a bit though. When Hermione said that Hogwarts wasn't safe anymore, she got chills. If Hogwarts wasn't safe, then out in the world would be extremely dangerous. It made her worry about Harry even more.

Even though the family knew the truth, that didn't keep them from continuing the search. Mad-Eye Moody was in charge of the search team, and he wanted to make sure Harry was found safe. It was a month after Christmas, and still the search team wondered if they were ever going to find him.

One day, Moody heard the voice of one of his searchers yell out, "Hey, I think I found something!"

Quickly, he ran over to see what they had found. He looked down at the ground, and saw a black piece of fabric. Bending down to take a better look, he realized it was a cloak. On the cloak was a lion, the symbol of Gryffindor. But this cloak was different than all the other Hogwarts cloaks. This one was burned to the point where you could barely see the lion.

"Where did you find this?" Moody asked.

"At the bottom of the lake nearby, Sir," his searcher replied. "We went diving down, and found a piece of black fabric, so we pulled it out of the lake."

"Gather up the search team boys and we'll take this to the Minister of Magic," Moody said. As the men left, Moody sat down next to a tree, and buried his head in his hands. He knew what this meant, but he just didn't want to think about it until he talked to Scrimgeour.

When all the men were gathered, they apparated to the Ministry of Magic. Moody began to walk to Scrimgeour's office when he realized all the searchers were following him.

"Stay here," he ordered. "This is something I have to discuss with the minister alone." The searchers obeyed his wishes, and he continued on to the ministers office. When he got there, he knocked on the door and heard a voice say, "Come in."

He stepped inside the room, and heard the voice of Scrimgeour bellow, "Have you found Potter yet, Moody?"

"No, we haven't exactly found Harry yet, Minister," Moody replied. "But we did find something I feel you should look at." At those last words he handed the minister the burnt cloak. "One of the searchers found this at the bottom of a lake."

All the blood drained out of Scrimgeour's face when he eyed the cloak. Moody saw the change, and sat down in one of the office chairs.

"What do you make of it, Minister?" he asked, silently praying he wouldn't say what he thought he would say.

"Well… with this piece of evidence, I find it best to assume Potter is… no longer with us," Scrimgeour said. "We must call off the search and contact Potter's family."

"Yes, Minister, I'll do that myself," Moody replied. "Should I also send a letter to Hogwarts to inform the staff?"

"Yes, Moody, please do," the minister answered, and Moody silently got up and left the room.

When Moody walked outside the office and into the entrance of the ministry, he saw all of the searchers sitting down in chairs. The moment they saw him, they stood up and gave Moody a questioning look.

Noticing this, he said, "The minister has given me orders to call off the search. He believes, as do I, that Potter was killed." At those words, the searchers sat down in the chairs. Some started silently crying, and some had looks of disbelief on their faces. But Moody couldn't take care of that at the moment. What he knew he had to do was inform the Weasley's of his death.

Moody apparated right there, and landed at the Burrow's doorstep. Quietly, he knocked on the door, and heard the movement of someone get up to answer it.

Bill was the one. At the sight of Moody, he said, "Oh, Mad-Eye, please come in!"

"Bill, wait… there is something I need to discuss with your father before I come in."

So Bill called his father over, and as Mr. Weasley got up to the door, Moody said, "Arthur, we need to talk." Mr. Weasley immediately got pale faced.

"What is it, Mad-Eye, what's happened?" he said, and Bill, hearing these words, got up yet again to the door. Charlie followed him, and together, they joined their father.

"The searchers… well, we found something today," Mad-Eye said, not knowing how to tell them. Seeing the questioning looks, he continued. "A cloak was found at the bottom of a lake this morning. It was burnt to a crisp, but I made out a symbol on the heart of it. The symbol of the Gryffindor lion. When we showed it to the minister, he told us to… call off the search. He believes Harry is…." He didn't have to finish his sentence for the men in front of him to understand.

"Mad-Eye," Arthur said, trying to cover up the breaking sound in his voice, "please, come inside."

It was one day after Ginny and Hermione had the conversation about being a third wheel. Ginny was up in her dormitory, doing her school work, when she heard the tapping on the window. She got up, opened the window, pulled off the letter, and read that Professor McGonagall wished to see her. She gave the bird a treat, and walked up to the Headmistresses office.

As she got to the Gargoyle that blocked the staircase, she saw that McGonagall was waiting for her outside.

"Let us go up to my office, Miss Weasley, we have something we need to discuss." McGonagall said the password, and she and Ginny walked up the stairs. When they got into the office, Ginny took off her hat, took a seat at McGonagall's desk and waited for her to talk.

"Miss Weasley, I think it would be best if I get to the point fast," McGonagall said. "I don't want to drag this out any longer than I have to. The search team, who were looking for Mr. Potter, found something yesterday."

Ginny's face went immediately pale as the thought crossed her mind that they'd found Harry and were forcing him to go back to school instead of finishing his journey.

"What did they find, Professor?" Ginny asked.

"They found a burnt Gryffindor cloak at the bottom of a lake," McGonagall replied. Ginny's face went even paler as McGonagall continued. "The Minister of Magic believes that… that Mr. Potter is… dead." Professor McGonagall looked at the girl. There was nothing but silence for a few moments, when finally McGonagall asked, "Are you alright, Miss Weasley?"

"I'm fine, Professor," she said in a cheerful voice. "May I be excused now please?"

"Yes, Miss Weasley, you may be excused," she replied, and Ginny left the office.

As she walked back to the Common Room, she started thinking of all the times they had together.

Flashback

Fred and George had just walked off the train to say goodbye to their mother and sister. Ginny was ten, and was so depressed that she couldn't go to the school yet. That's all she could think about, until she heard her brothers start talking about someone they met on the train.

"Hey, Mum, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" said Fred.

"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" said George.

"Who?" asked her mother.

"Harry Potter!" the twins said together, and Ginny immediately wanted to meet him.

"Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him, Mum, oh please…."

"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"

"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there--- like lightning."

"Poor dear--- no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform."

"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"

Her mother got very angry at those words, and said, "I forbid you to ask him Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school."

"All right, keep your hair on."

That's when the train's whistle blew, and the twins had to get onto the train really fast. As the train left, Ginny started crying, and Fred and George said they'd send her loads of owls and a Hogwarts toilet seat. Her mother got mad again, and yelled at the boys, who said they were just joking. She didn't want to see the train leave without her on it, so she chased it until she could no longer see it. On the way back home, all she could think about was Harry Potter being on that train, and how she wished she could meet him.

She remembered when he came to her home for the first time. She was so shy, she stayed up in her room most of the time. But on the first day, she left her door open just a little bit, and as Harry walked up the stairs to Ron's room, she looked him straight in his green eyes.

She remembered another time when she was embarrassed to see him. At the sight of him, she freaked, and dropped her bowl of porridge. When she retrieved it, and sat back down, she set her elbow in the butter dish. What an embarrassing day.

She remembered waking up in the Chamber of Secrets. She gasped when she saw him, and started bawling. "Harry-- oh, Harry-- I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-couldn't say it in front of Percy-- it was me, Harry-- but I-- I s-swear I d-didn't mean to-- Riddle made me, he t-took me over-- and-- how did you kill that-- that thing? W-where's Riddle? The last thing I remember is him coming out of the diary--"

"It's all right," Harry said, and he held up the diary so Ginny could see the huge hole in it. "Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the basilisk. C'mon, Ginny, let's get out of here--"

"I'm going to be expelled!" she cried, and Harry helped her to her feet. "I've looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I'll have to leave and-- w-what will Mum and Dad say?"

Together, they walked out of the chamber, met Ron, and flew up to Hogwarts with Fawkes. She remembered how Harry helped her that night. He explained things to her mother and father when she couldn't. He was so kind, such a hero. She was so happy when he didn't get expelled. She knew she would be seeing him again.

She remembered when they were on the train the year after the Chamber incident. Percy caught sight of his girlfriend, Penelope. As Percy went to her, Harry looked at Ginny, and they both turned away to hide their laughter. That was a fine day. It made her think that maybe they could be friends.

She remembered the ball in her third year. She was so upset when Ron said that he and Hermione could go together, and her and Harry could go together. She would've loved to go with Harry, but she already made a date with Neville, and she couldn't break it. But she remembered seeing him there, seeing him in his dress robes, and wishing she could dance with him.

She remembered when he locked himself up in his room at Grimmauld Place. When he was so upset because he thought her dad getting hurt was his fault, when he thought he was a weapon. She helped him out a lot that day, just by reminding him that he could talk to her about Voldemort anytime, because she too had been hurt by him. That cheered him up quite a bit, and she was so proud of herself that day.

Later that year they went to the Department of Mysteries to help Harry save Sirius. She would've done anything to help him that day, but when she broke her ankle, she knew she was limited with the things she could do. At least she got Malfoy to leave him alone. Her perfect Bat-Bogey Hex did the trick. But seeing him depressed after Sirius was killed drove her crazy. How she wished she could make him feel better.

It was just last year when she won the Quidditch Cup for her team. Harry would've played but he was in detention that day. Ron was screaming, "WE WON! WE WON!" She ran over and threw her arms around Harry. She was surprised when he kissed her. When they broke apart, Harry looked at her brother, as if getting his permission, then he took her on a walk.

It was just a little while after they'd gotten together when her, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were relaxing in the Common Room.

"You'd think people had better things to gossip about," she said, referring to the gossip that had been going around the school about her and Harry. "Three dementor attacks in a week, and all Romilda Vane does is ask me if it's true you've got a hippogriff tattooed across your chest."

Ron and Hermione laughed, and Harry asked, "What did you tell her?"

"I told her it was a Hungarian Horntail," she replied. "Much more macho."

He smiled and said, "Thanks. What did you tell her Ron's got?"

"A Pygmy Puff, but I didn't say where."

Her brother threw her a dirty look as Hermione was rolling on the floor laughing.

Just a few months after they got together, Dumbledore and Harry left to find a Horcrux. Before he left, though, he gave them all his lucky potion, so incase there was a battle, they'd all stay safe. It was lucky he did, too, because they almost got hit by spells many times.

She remembered when Harry cried over Dumbledore's dead body. Hagrid kept trying to take him away from there, but he wouldn't listen. It was her that he listened to. She took his hand and brought him to the Hospital Wing, where they both told everyone Dumbledore was dead.

It was at the funeral that he broke up with her. She knew he would, though. But she also knew that as soon as Voldemort was dead, he would come back to her. Then, when he came back to the house that summer, he told her he wanted to get back together. They would talk every night about what he wanted to do. How he wanted to leave to find and destroy all the Horcruxes. She remembered coming up with the plan to get him out of the house. She remembered him leaving.

"Gin?" he asked. "Ginny? Ginny are you okay?" He walked over to her and looked her in the eye. She just seemed to be staring off into space.

Finally she said, "What have I done?"

Harry just looked at her and said, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, Harry," she cried. "This could be the last time I see you. For all I know you could get killed the second you leave my sight. Harry… what if I never see you again?"

Harry didn't know what to say to her. He was also worried about never seeing her again, but he couldn't tell her that. So, he did the best he could do to comfort her.

He wrapped his arms around her and said, "We may never see each other again. For all I know, I could get killed in five minutes. But think of what'll happen if I don't die, if I kill Voldemort. Everything will be normal again."

"I know, Harry," Ginny said. "But one of my biggest fears is getting a letter at breakfast saying you were found dead in the woods."

"Ginny… that's something we'll just have to risk," he replied. "But if I do die, I want you to remember that I'll always be with you."

"Always?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied, and took Dumbledore's locket out of his pocket, and handed it to her.

She took it and read the words that he had inscribed on it a week before.

"Always and forever," she said, reading the inscribed words aloud. "Are you… are you giving this to me?"

"Yes," he said, and hooked it around her neck. "Therefore, even though I'm not there with you, you'll have a piece of me always there."

She looked down at the locket and held the heart in her hands. The words inscribed on it were so thoughtful and so sweet, they made her love him even more.

Not knowing what to say, she let the heart shaped pendant fall to her chest, and jumped into his arms. And then, for the first time in months, she kissed him. The kiss only lasted a few moments, but to them it lasted forever. Both of them had no idea how long it would be until they saw each other again, or if they would ever see each other again.

When the kiss finally broke and Harry stepped into the forest behind him, Ginny was silent. Nothing in the whole world could cheer her up now. Quietly, as she wiped the tears out of her chocolate brown eyes, she walked back to the Burrow.

End Flashback

She was back in the Common Room now, her face showing no emotion at all.

"Hey, Ginny," Hermione said. "How were your classes today?"

"Ginny, what are you doing?" Ron asked, as he saw her walk up the stairs to her dormitory.

"Ginny, you can't go up there," Hermione said. "You could get into trouble."

But Ginny ignored them. She walked up the stairs to the seventh year boys dormitory. Looking around, she saw Harry's bed and walked over to it. She bent down, and touched the words 'Harry Potter' on the board of it. She took off her locket that he had given her before he left, and put it on the bed.

"Always and forever," she whispered, and started to bawl.

"Ginny what are you--" Hermione gasped at the sight of Ginny on the floor of Harry's bed in tears. "Ron!" she called. "Ron, come here quick!"

She heard footsteps on the stairs and heard Ron run over to her. She pushed him away, and continued to cry. That's when she heard a voice.

"Miss Weasley, you forgot your hat up in--" Professor McGonagall gasped and ran over to her. She wrapped the girl in a hug, and whispered, "It'll be okay, Miss Weasley. Things will be alright."

"Professor, what's happened?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, what's wrong with her?" Ron added.

Professor McGonagall continued to hug Ginny as she told the two bewildered students about Harry. By the time she was done, Ron was staring at the wall of his dorm, while Hermione was in his arms crying.

Through all the chaos, the crying, and the thinking, nobody heard Ginny whisper, "Always and forever."


	16. RAB Revealed

It took about two months and half for Harry to reach Grimmauld Place. He had no idea where on earth that locket could be, so he figured, while he thought about it, he would stay at his 'home.' The frustrating thing was… he'd been in the house for a month, and still had no idea where to look. Ginny wasn't writing him anymore. That scared him, because he couldn't help but think she had found someone else. Plus, he had not had any dreams from his parents in awhile, and didn't think he would get anymore. Oh, how he was wrong.

One night, as he was listening to the crickets chirp him to sleep, he had a dream.

"Harry!" Sirius said. "It's about time! We've been waiting for you forever! Lily, he's here!"

As he said those words, his mother appeared right in front of him. "Harry! Finally! As soon as this war is over, you need to get some relaxing sleep!"

"Mum," he said. "I've been waiting for you guys to enter my dreams again for awhile now. What's taken you so long?"

"We can only enter your dreams when you're relaxed," said Dumbledore, who had just appeared a few moments ago. "It's so rare for you though, that it's almost impossible to do it anymore."

"Oh, lets just hurry this up," said James, who has appeared right after Dumbledore. "Remember last time we thought we wouldn't get interrupted?"

"You're right, James," Lily said. "Okay, Harry, listen closely. R. A.B. is--"

Harry awoke to the sound of crashing. Startled, he looked out his window to find that an animal had gotten into the trash cans outside. He was extremely angry at this point. Four times now, his mother had tried to tell him who R.A.B. was, and four times he had been interrupted. Still tired, he relaxed on his bed, and fell asleep.

It was a month after Ginny received the news of Harry's death, and still she was mourning. She hadn't eaten much, and barely got any sleep. Whenever she did sleep, she'd have nightmares about Harry getting chased through the woods by Voldemort himself. Her hair was matted, and her robes were filthy, but she didn't seem to care. She didn't care about anything anymore. Ron felt it was time for that to change.

"Hey, Ginny," he said on an afternoon that she was in the Common Room. "How are you? Haven't talked to you much lately. How's school?"

"Ron… please just stop," Ginny said, annoyed. "You know very well how I am. I'm sick with sadness! I haven't wanted to talk to anyone lately! And school is going very badly! Why must you ask me questions you know the answer to?!"

"Ginny… I'm sorry," he said. "Listen, I knew Harry for seven years, and I know that he wouldn't want the love of his life to be this heartbroken. Everyone is upset about Harry. Goodness, Ginny, I've barely been able to do my school work. Hermione is constantly crying. The school is in chaos, and the one person who can help pull things together is sitting up in her dormitory, not saying a word to anyone."

"What makes you think I can make things better?" she said. "Ron… I'm just one person. One person in this school. One person who knew him. One person out of a bunch that cared! How am I supposed to help?!"

"By keeping the faith, Ginny! That's all you could do for months. You were the one that said things would work out for the best. You were the one that believed in him the most."

"Yeah," she said, "and I was wrong! I shouldn't have told everyone to believe in him so much. Maybe if I didn't…. She stopped there, and looked down.

"Maybe if you didn't what?" Ron asked.

"Maybe if I didn't believe in him so much, it wouldn't hurt as bad that he's gone," she said, and started bawling. "Oh, Ron, he's gone! I'm never going to see him again. It's all my fault, too. Why did I have to help him get out of the Burrow? Why am I so stupid? Every second of the day, I think of old times. When I wanted to see him on the train in your first year. When he saved my life in my first. When I put my elbow in that butter dish! Ron… why? Why did he have to die?!"

Ron walked over to his sister and held her while she cried. "Ginny… you got him out of the Burrow because you knew that's where he wanted to be. Where he had to be. You're not stupid, you're the smartest one of the bunch. And I don't know why he had to die…. But you know what I do know?"

"What?" she asked. "What do you know?"

"I know we all need you," he replied. "There is no way any of us are going to get out of this tragedy without someone strong."

"Ron… I'm not strong anymore," she said sadly.

"Ginny, you are the strongest person I know," he said. "Be strong, Ginny, like Harry was."

At these words, everything suddenly hit her. It was okay to mourn, but she didn't have to be so weak. Ron was right, everyone needed her. Without warning, she got up, got in the shower, got dressed in clean clothes, and walked down the stairs to the Common Room. At the sight of her, Ron smiled.

"Are you ready to face the world?" he asked.

"No," she replied. "I'm ready to help it."

Harry was in the house for two months, and still he had no idea where the locket could be. He'd walked around the house a thousand times, hoping to figure out who R.A.B. was. One day, as he walked through the house deep in thought, he tripped over a rubbish bag in the center of the room. Since he didn't want the house to be any messier than it already was, he decided to pick up all the contents of the bag. As he stuffed the contents into the bag, he remembered when he cleaned up this room with Sirius. The box that sang you to sleep, the award that one of Sirius' family members won, and… a locket.

Harry's heart stopped when he held the golden locket in his hands. This locket was unlike any he'd ever seen before. It was heavy, impossible to open, and had a snake-like 'S' on the front. Harry's eyes fell upon the Black family tapestry.

Flashback

Sirius pointed at a name on the tapestry. 'REGULUS BLACK.' A date of death (some fifteen years previously) followed by a date of birth.

"He was younger than me," Sirius said, "and a much better son, as I was constantly reminded."

"But he died," he asked.

"Yeah," said Sirius. "Stupid idiot… he joined the Death Eaters."

"You're kidding!"

"Come on, Harry, haven't you seen enough of this house to tell what kind of wizards my family were?" Sirius said testily.

End Flashback

'R.A.B. is Regulus Black,' he thought. 'Regulus must've switched the lockets when he hid them away for Voldemort.'

It all made sense. The note in the locket used the name 'Dark Lord' which is a name only his followers call him. When Ginny said she remembered seeing a locket; she was helping clean this room. She would've remembered seeing a locket, because she put it in the rubbish bin.

Quick as lightning, Harry took out his wand and yelled out, "Attero Animus!" The light spread around the locket and he watched as Voldemort killed his father and grandparents. He watched as he ran out of the house, and he watched as the door closed behind him. He watched at Tom Riddle Sr.'s head hit the floor and the light stopped. Right on the front of the locket was a small crack, signifying that the Horcrux had been destroyed.

Immediately, he packed his things, shrunk his trunk, and left the dark and gloomy house behind. On his way out the door he wondered where on earth Voldemort could be. How would he ever find him? Would he want to find him? These were all questions that were answered just a few minutes later, when a red and gold bird flew up and landed on his shoulder.

"F-Fawkes?" Harry asked. "Fawkes, is it really you?" The bird bowed his bright red head, telling Harry that it indeed was Fawkes. "What are you doing here?"

Fawkes just looked him in his emerald green eyes and flew out into the forest. For some reason, Harry felt it would be best if he followed. So, taking long strides to keep up with the beautiful bird, he continued his journey, hoping he was doing the right thing.


	17. Back to Hogwarts

It was mid May, and everybody seemed to be doing much better. Ron and Hermione were still upset with the whole thing but, as much as they loved Harry, they had to move on. Ginny was trying to do the same, but it was a bit harder for her. She was trying to be strong, like Ron told her to, but every night she'd cry herself to sleep. Schoolwork was helping her take her mind off things, so she ended up studying in the library quite often. One afternoon, as she sat in the library with her nose in a book, Dean Thomas walked over to her.

"Hey Ginny," Dean said. "May I take a seat please?" Without looking up from her book, she nodded, and he sat down. "What are you reading?" he asked, and she showed him the cover of the book. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? That's a pretty interesting book. Are you reading it for a class?"

"No," she said. "It just interests me. I've always liked that class. Kind of fascinating, really, don't you think?"

"Yeah… yeah sure," he responded. "Listen, Ginny, I was hoping I could talk to you in private, and it seems like I've found my perfect chance."

"Then talk, Dean," she said, getting a little annoyed.

"I was just wondering… you know… I was about to ask you out again that day you and Potter got together," he said, and she just looked up at him. "Well… now… you know, since Potter's gone, I was just wondering if you wanted to get together again?"

She just looked at him, and then, out of nowhere, starting laughing. It was so funny. He thought that with Harry gone, he could take his big chance. Well, Ginny had two words for him.

"No thanks," and she continued with her reading.

"No thanks?" he asked. "Why? I don't understand why you're acting this way? Someone asks you out for the first time in months, and you turn them down flat! Merlin, Ginny, what do you want?!"

Now, instead of laughing, she was glaring. "You know, Dean, unlike Cho Chang, I don't just bounce up that fast. I'm still mourning, and if you're too stupid to see that, then I have nothing else to say to you."

"Mourning who?!" he yelled. "A boy who supposedly loved you, but still went out to fight, is that who you're mourning? Come on, Ginny! He couldn't have loved you that much, because he left you. He left you, and then went and got himself killed. How could you mourn someone that put revenge over love? That's just stupid!"

She was getting angrier and angrier as the moments went by. He didn't know the whole story. He didn't know about the prophecy, or about the locket he gave her before he left. She was about to inform him.

"You know what, Dean?" she said. "Before Harry left, he gave me a locket. This locket, the that one sits on my neck, says 'Always and forever'. Do you have any idea how much that meant to me? And you don't know the whole story, so how dare you say that stuff about him?"

"You haven't answered my question, Ginny," he said. "What do you want?"

"Well, definitely not you, that's for sure!" she said, and he got up really fast.

"Fine!" he yelled. "I don't know why I even tried, anyway! You probably don't have a heart to love anyone. Merlin, I heard you helped Harry leave the house! Couldn't have loved him that much, could you?!"

Quick as lightning, Ginny stood up, and punched him in the face as hard as she could. His bum fell onto the floor, and he was holding his jaw like a little baby. "Don't you ever say I didn't love him! I loved him more than you can possible imagine, Dean Thomas, and nobody can take his place! I'm finished with you, why don't you just go outside and wait for the carriages to hit you!"

Scowling and in pain, he ran out of the library. Ginny was very angry now, and since there was no way she'd be able to concentrate on her book, she stuffed it in her bag and headed up to the common room, where she was greeted by Ron and Hermione.

"Hey, Gin?" Ron asked. "You wouldn't know why Dean just ran up to the boys dormitory screaming, 'She's a bloody lunatic' would you?"

Ginny smiled, and sat down at the table, suddenly in a very good mood.

The end of May was approaching, and still Harry was following Fawkes. He had no idea where this scarlet feathered bird was taking him, but he knew wherever it was, it was going to be important. There were times, though, when he was close to passing out from exhaustion, but still, he kept going. Finally, after what felt like forever, he realized that he had reached his destination.

"Fawkes," he asked, "why are we at Hogwarts?" The bird looked at Harry, and then continued his flight inside the castle.

"Whoa, wait!" Harry said, and the bird stopped to look at him. Quickly, Harry put on his invisibility cloak, and then said, "Okay, we can go now!" Fawkes gave a nod of the head, and then continued his flight to the castle. When they reached a point where they couldn't go any further without someone noticing, Fawkes held out his legs, signaling Harry to hold on. Harry grabbed on, and the bird flew up to the top of the castle, all the way up to a certain window.

They entered the castle through the open window and that's when Harry realized where they were.

"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom?" he said, and let go of Fawkes' feet. That's when the bird swooped down into the sinks, and disappeared.

"Who's there?" a voice said, and Harry jumped. A grey figure game floating out of one of the cubicles, and Harry knew instantly that it was Moaning Myrtle. "Who's there? Show yourself or I will tell the Headmistress!"

Harry knew he had to show himself, because he didn't want anyone to see him. So, slowly, he took off his cloak. Myrtle gasped as she saw who the person standing in front of her was.

"Harry Potter!" she exclaimed, and swooped down to see him. "Oh, Harry, it's so nice to see you again. Where have you been, everybody thinks you're dead!"

"They what!" he said, as she got a sad look on her face.

"Yes, well… too bad really; you would've made a very nice ghost."

"They think I'm dead?" he said. "Why?"

"I'm not sure really, but they had a mourning feast and everything," she replied. "Everybody's going to be so happy to hear that you're alive again." At those words she started to cry. "I was hoping that you would come and share my toilet, but now you're alive, and now you'll never stay to keep me company." That's when she did what she does best: she moaned.

"Myrtle, shh!" he said. "Nobody can know I'm here. If they find out, I'll be taken away, and I'll never finish anything." The moaning stopped and she just looked at him.

"Why don't you want anyone to know you're alive?" she asked. "Shouldn't you be happy to be here again?"

"Listen, Myrtle," he began, "if you don't say anything, and if you keep quiet, then I'll come and keep you company a lot more often." A slow smile spread across her face, and he smiled as well, knowing he'd just said the perfect thing.

"Mum's the word," she said, and he smiled.

"Thanks, Myrtle," he replied, and looked over to the sinks. "Now let's see. Fawkes just flew down into the pipes, so that can only mean one thing."

"What?" Myrtle asked, and Harry walked over to the sink that he needed.

In his parseltongue voice, he said, "Open up!" Quick as lightning, the sinks separated, and left a big hole in the middle of the bathroom. He walked over to the hole, and looked at Myrtle. "Cheers," he said, and jumped into the hole.

Little did he know that a certain Poltergeist was watching him the whole time, and was very excited about causing all the trouble he knew he was about to cause.


	18. Peevsy's Secret

Quickly, he floated to the library, and over to the table where Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were studying at. As he floated over their table, he began giggling.

"What do you want, Peeves?" Hermione asked, getting very irritated at the disturbance. The poltergeist ignored her and continued to giggle gleefully.

"Go away, Peeves," Ron said, but still Peeves continued to laugh.

"What do you want, Peeves?" Ginny asked, and the poltergeist stopped laughing.

"I know something you don't know!" Peeves exclaimed, and the three looked up at him.

"What do you know, Peeves?" Hermione asked, and Peeves began laughing again.

"Potthead, Potthead, I know something about the Potthead!" he started singing.

Ron, who was getting very annoyed, said, "Peeves, go away, find someone else to bug!" But Ginny put her hand up, silencing Ron.

"What about him, Peeves?" she asked, and Ron and Hermione looked at her.

"Woo Hoo! Miss Weasley has finally gotten it!" he yelled, and Ron and Hermione understood what he meant by, 'Potthead.'

"What about him, Peeves?" Ginny asked again.

"He just entered a place that should be very familiar to you, Miss Weasley."

"What?" she asked. "Peeves… Harry is dead, remember?"

"That's not what I just heard!" he screamed jovially. "I just heard from a certain moaning ghost that Potty Wee Potter has come back to the school."

"Peeves," Ginny said, trying to be strong. "I don't know who told you that Harry was in the school, or that he's alive, but whoever told you had to be mistaken. We should know; we were at the memorial service."

"You ask where I heard it from, Miss Weasley?" Peeves said, floating around in the air. "Why, I didn't just hear it from Myrtle, but I heard it from Potter himself."

"Oh really?" Hermione said, getting irritated at all this nonsense. "What exactly did he say, Peeves? If he really said anything at all."

"He said that he didn't want anyone was to know that he was alive," he answered. "Said that if they knew they would take him away, and he would never finish what he needed to do."

Ginny's eyes grew wide at the mention of Harry's mission. No one was supposed to know why he left, and Peeves especially shouldn't know. But from what he was saying, Harry was alive, and somewhere in the castle.

"Where did you say he was?" she asked urgently, throwing her books into her bag hurriedly.

"Ginny, you can't believe that what Peeves is saying is truthful," Ron said, shocked at his sister's actions. "Peeves lies a lot, Gin. You should know that by now! He's just trying to get to you, and he knows that saying Harry's alive will be the way to do it."

"Where did you say he was?" Ginny asked again, ignoring her brother's comments.

"Peevsy doesn't know if he should tell you," he answered in a sing-song voice. "Potty did, after all , say that no one should know he's back."

But Ginny was too quick for him. She pulled out her wand and pointed it straight at Peeves, ignoring the gasp coming from Madam Pince.

"Tell me where he is, Peeves, or I swear on my life I will curse your pathetic existence away from this castle for all of eternity!" She had a critical expression on her face that Peeves knew meant she was dead serious… literally.

"He was in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom last I saw," Peeves said smiling, even though he was scared to death. "He promised Myrtle that, if she didn't tell anyone he was back, that he would visit her more often."

Instantly, Ginny ran out of the library, leaving her bag behind her. She could hear the footsteps of Ron and Hermione behind her, trying like mad to catch up. Her heart felt like it would fly out of her chest, she was running so fast, and she could feel the locket bouncing against her neck softly with every lengthy footstep.

It felt like hours before she caught sight of the girls' bathroom in which Moaning Myrtle lived. Inside she saw the sinks separated, yet they were slowly coming together. She knew she had to hurry if she was going to make it inside the Chamber of Secrets. But the faster she ran, the faster the sinks came together as one again.

She only had seconds left as her feet reached the bathroom entrance. Continuing her quest to get to the entrance before they closed she ran the last few steps.

But the second she reached them they closed. Angrily, she banged her fists up against them, tears flowing down her face knowing that he was down there, willing to risk it all, and knowing that she was up there, trapped just outside.

Tears burned her eyes as the thought crossed her mind that this could be it… she may never see him again. It could all be over in a few minutes, and she would never know the difference.

Ron and Hermione entered the bathroom a few moments later, coughing and out of breath. They were on their knees when Moaning Myrtle entered the bathroom, shock crossing her transparent face.

"What are you three doing here?" she asked. "Have you come to visit me? Finally, after all these years, you've come back to visit!" Her sad face turned into a smile as the thought crossed her mind that she was loved.

"No, Myrtle," Ginny said, wiping the tears from her eyes. As she stood up she said, "We're here because of Harry. We know he's here somewhere, so we want to know why?"

Myrtle frowned. "Well, I can't tell you why he's here. He made me promise not to, and I will keep my promise… because he promised he would visit me. And I do like having visitors, you know."

"Myrtle, please?" Ginny said, her voice breaking. "Please tell us. This could be the difference between life and death."

"If he dies, it'll be better for me," Myrtle said in a hopeful tone. "Then I'll have someone to stay with me for all of eternity."

"But can't you see," Ginny said, letting the tears fall again. "Don't you understand? This isn't just some stupid game! This is everything!"

"Yes, well…," she said. "Why should I tell you? What makes you think he would want you to know?"

"Because I love him, Myrtle!" Ginny replied, getting down on her knees. "I've told him! And he loves me, too!"

Myrtle's face went from happy, to shocked, to sad all in one minute as she watched the red head cry frantically on her knees, hopelessly trying to find out information about the boy she loved. Hermione rushed over to Ginny's aide, trying to calm her tears.

"I don't know why he went down there," Myrtle said sadly. "All I know is that he said if I kept his secret, he would visit me more often. And that's all I want really."

"We have go to Professor McGonagall," Ron said. "She may know something we don't; maybe a way that we can get inside the chamber without saying anything."

And so the three rushed upstairs to the headmistress's office, but not before Ginny thanked Myrtle for her information.

Meanwhile, Harry was below them, waiting for the final battle to begin.


	19. Over in a Flash

Harry slid down entrance just as easily as he did when he was twelve. He noticed that nothing had changed much since his last visit, as the rocks were still blocking the entrance. But, as he was much older now, he pulled his wand out and blew the rocks to pieces, giving him an entry to the Chamber of Secrets.

Once it was safe to enter, he walked silently through, scared to death that if he made any noise he would be heard and killed. It took a while for him to find the main door, which was a huge round stone, snakes engraved all over it. Just as he did with the sinks, he said "Open up!" in the famous snake language.

The snakes all slithered away from the stone, unlocking it. Without a sound, he walked into the familiar chamber, waiting to face his destiny. Sure enough, the chamber held what looked like hundreds of death eaters, all surrounding a cloaked figure in the middle that Harry assumed to be his target: Voldemort.

His steps seemed to echo all around the chamber as his heart raced furiously. But, even though he felt as if he was making a ton of noise, the death eaters didn't seem to notice him one bit.

After getting close enough to find the last horcrux, he hid himself behind a statue so as not to be seen. Quiet as a mouse he whispered in snake language, "Nagini, come to me." He watched as the snake looked around curiously, and then followed the sound of his voice.

As the snake was slithering her way to him he heard a bit of what the death eaters were talking about.

"Lucius!" Voldemort hissed from the center of the circle. "Do you have any word on that blasted Potter yet?"

"Well, Master," Lucius said nervously. "I don't… well… according to the Daily Prophet, Potter was killed about a month ago."

Voldemort raised his wand threateningly at his servant and, after realizing that this was indeed his answer, he used the Cruciatus Curse against him.

The snake was getting closer to Harry, and sweat beamed down his face as he continued to listen to the conversation.

"That blasted Potter has been getting on my nerves for almost seventeen years now!" Voldemort screamed. "And for three years I've been waiting for you to destroy him, Lucius! Still he lives, and it's all your fault."

Harry watched as Malfoy writhed in pain on the floor. But, as the snake got closer to Harry, he couldn't help but think that, after all Malfoy had done, he deserved it.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the snake slithered its way up to Harry. Wand at the ready, he hissed the famous spell that would end his journey.

"Attero Animus!" he whispered, and watched as the snake lit up, causing memories to flash before his very eyes. He watched what he had watched three years previous: Frank Bryce, the helpless muggle, die; he listened to Voldemort's cruel laugh as the muggle fell to the floor; he watched as the light disappeared, and the snake fell to the floor, dead.

Harry wiped the sweat from his face as he realized that what he was about to do was almost suicidal. But, in a way, he had no choice. It was written in the stars, and only he could do what needed to be done. And so, gathering up as much strength as he could, he grabbed the snake and stepped from behind the statue.

Voldemort stopped his long speech as he realized that his snake was gone. He his in snake language the name of his precious pet, but to no avail. Nagini didn't come. But Harry did.

"Looking for this?" Harry asked, sliding the dead serpent on the floor in Voldemort's direction.

"Harry Potter," Voldemort said, a smile crawling across his snake-like lips. "I was just talking about you. Yes, I was looking for my snake, but I see you found her before I did."

"I know your game, Voldemort," Harry yelled angrily, causing Voldemort's smile to fade just a bit. "That's right, I know all about your horcrux."

At these words, Voldemort's faded smile turned into a full grin. He obviously thought that Harry meant he'd only found one horcrux. But of course, Harry couldn't let him believe that. That would be rude.

"Or should I say… Horcruxes." Again, Voldemort's smile faded, and hint of nervousness hit his face as he realized that he had no back up plan anymore. But this panicky look was soon replaced by his smile yet again.

"Yes, it seems that you have figured out my game," he said. "But you haven't figured it all out now, have you?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, pulling his wand out of his pocket. "What other game could you possibly have up your sleeve?"

"Your worst nightmares, Potter," he said devilishly. Then, with a flick of his wand, Ginny appeared just ten feet away from him. Harry felt like his heart had stopped at the sight of her in peril.

He ran to take a step toward her, only to watch her disappear. Voldemort laughed his cruel laugh as she reappeared in his arms.

"Let her go!" Harry screamed, scared to death that he was going to hurt her. He couldn't take it if he did… he'd had to watch Cedric die, Sirius die, and Dumbledore die… but losing Ginny would be too much for him. "Please, let her go."

"She will be fine if you surrender yourself!" he screamed hatefully. "If you drop your wand at this moment, I will free her. So make your choice, Potter. Your life… or hers."

"Harry, please," Ginny said, tears forming in her chocolate brown eyes.

Harry had no clue what to do. He had to kill Voldemort. Yet he couldn't stand living without Ginny. Everything he'd been working for was for her, and there was no point in doing it without her. But that's when the thought crossed his mind that he was lying… that this wasn't the true Ginny. That Ginny was above him, safe and sound, probably in the library doing her studies at that particular moment.

"Have you made your choice, Potter?" Voldemort asked, his smile growing even wider as he realized he was going to win, finally, after all those years.

Harry let his arm drop to the floor, and left it hanging there for a few moments. But then, just as Voldemort thought he was going to drop it, he raised it, ready to fight.

Voldemort laughed cruelly. "Well, it seems you have decided, haven't you? Very well…." He pointed his wand straight at Ginny's chest… that Harry just realized had the locket hanging around it.

"Wait!"

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort screamed, watching the flash of green light hit her square in chest. Harry watched helplessly as his true love dancing in the green flames, then letting her lifeless body fall to the floor.

"NO!" Harry screamed, running over to Ginny's body. "No, no, no, no. It was a bluff; a trick, I know it. Merlin, Ginny, please wake up. Please!" He banged his fists against the floor as memories from many years ago hit him.

Flashback

"_Ginny," Harry murmured, sprinting to her and dropping to his knees. "Ginny – don't be dead – please don't be dead --" He flung his wand aside, grabbed Ginny's shoulders, and turned her over. Her face was white as marble, and as cold, yet her eyes were closed, so she wasn't Petrified. But then she must be –_

"_Ginny, please wake up," Harry muttered desperately, shaking her. Ginny's head lolled hopelessly from side to side._

End Flashback

He was in the same boat as before. Ginny was there, in the Chamber of Secrets the first time, and here she was again. Both times she was dead, or at least almost. But this time she wouldn't miraculously wake; this time there was no diary to destroy.

Voldemort laughed heartlessly behind him, and Harry's anger bubbled from beneath him. He stood silently on his feet, picking his wand up in the process. His eyes fell on the laughing figure of Voldemort, who seemed happy at Harry's loss. But Harry was now, officially, in his own world.

"_Harry!" a voice called from the darkness that was his mind. "Harry, please listen to us! This is your mother! You can do this. It'll all be over if you do what your feeling. Show your love for her! Let us help you."_

_He watched as his mother, his father, Sirius, and Dumbledore circled him in a clockwise type manner._

"_We have powers, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Powers that will help you; but you must accept them. Let us give you these powers."_

_Dumbledore was first. He circled around Harry, now counterclockwise, and said, "I, Albus Dumbledore, give you the gift of wisdom." A golden light shot straight through Harry's body as Dumbledore's figure disappeared._

_Sirius was next. He did the same as Dumbledore did and started circling him counterclockwise. "I, Sirius Black, give you the gift of loyalty." A bright blue color went straight through Harry's body as Sirius, too, disappeared._

_James went after Sirius. After circling him counterclockwise he said, "I, James Potter, give you the gift of bravery." A bright purple color shot went through Harry as James disappeared as well._

_Lily was the last one. She did the same as the others and circled him counterclockwise, then said, "I, Lily Potter, give you the gift of love." A bright red color shot through Harry as his mother left him to fight._

"Potter!" Voldemort called, bringing Harry back to his senses. "You made your choice, now you have to live with it! Fight me!"

But closer inspection told Voldemort that Harry was not the same as he was just moments ago. His mother's green eyes turned into a dark black color that matched perfectly with his hair.

Panic started to creep its way up his body, and he called his followers to help him. But Harry, who was now floating in the air, pushed all the death eaters against the wall of the chamber at the same exact time, knocking them all unconscious.

Harry flew straight at Voldemort, getting right in his face. "Bring it," he said softly, holding his wand tightly in his hand. Voldemort raised his wand to fight, but Harry was too fast for him. Fast as lightning, he used his unnatural new powers to bring Voldemort's wand to him.

"Harry, please," Voldemort begged, making Harry think back on all the begging that had been done on the good side in all the years he'd been in power; the begging done by his mother and father, the begging done by Dumbledore, and finally the begging done by Ginny.

"Sorry," Harry said, his eyes still a black color. "But I don't take begging. Especially from you!" And then, with a wave of his wand, he screamed out the famous words that he'd been hoping to say for years.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

It was all over in a flash of green light.


	20. Loving Again

The moment the green light had hit Voldemort's chest, his eyes changed back to their normal state. He thought that this moment would bring him joy, but instead it brought him sadness. But not sadness in the fact that that evil monster was gone… no, it was the fact that Ginny was gone that killed him.

But when he turned around to her lifeless body, he saw, not Ginny, but Wormtail. Harry got down on his knees, grateful that it was all officially over. And not only was it over, he had made the right decision. Ginny was not dead, she was above him, safe and sound, just as he thought she was. He laughed as the thought crossed his mind, thankful that he was alive.

Still, he knew that if he stuck around, he wouldn't be alive any longer, for the death eaters could wake at any moment. And so, with as much strength as he could muster, he pocketed Voldemort's wand, and walked over to the magnificent bird that had just flown in through the entrance of the chamber.

"Fawkes," Harry said weakly. "Take me home now, please." And so the bird flew, up high, taking Harry up to the sinks, where he whispered the snake-like password, and flew through them.

Once in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom he let his feet fall to the floor, which frightened the young ghost that lived there.

"Harry?" Myrtle said, frowning. "You're not dead? Oh, pooh! But you will come and visit me, right?"

"Always, Myrtle," he said happily. "Always. But right now I need to head upstairs to Professor McGonagall's office. I promise I'll be back, though."

He tried to walk to the professor's office, but he realized that he was much too weak from all the power that had just left his body.

"Fawkes," he said weakly. "Think you can help me out just once more?" The bird nodded gracefully, then let Harry hold onto its feathers. He flew Harry up to the headmistress's office, let Harry dismount him, and flew off into the open sunset.

The statue was already moved, and so Harry was left with the simple task of knocking on the professor's door. And so he did.

Voices could be heard inside the office as a man hurriedly opened the door. He person who opened the door was obviously not expecting what he saw, for the instant his eyes fell on Harry his jaw dropped and he pulled Harry into a hug.

"Oh, Harry," Remus said happily. "You're okay! Why have you come back? I thought you were on a big mission?"

"It's over," Harry said faintly. "I just came from the… Chamber of Secrets… down below you will find hundreds of death eaters lying unconscious on the stone floors."

"What?" Moody said frantically. "What do you mean unconscious? What's going on, Potter?"

"You will also find…," Harry said, gasping for breath. "The body of Lord Voldemort." He watched all the jaws in the room drop. "It's… over. It's done. No more prophecies, please."

"What in blazes are you talking about, Potter," Moody said in a rather confused tone.

"The school…," Harry said. "I need to speak to the school. A… a ceremony. We need to hold a ceremony."

"Whoa, Harry," Remus said. "Here, take this, and then we'll talk." He pulled a piece of chocolate from his cloak and handed it to Harry. "This should make you feel better."

Harry took the chocolate, and instantly his body became much sturdier. He stood up now, able to speak right again.

"Voldemort is dead," he said. "I want to inform the school. Can we please set up a ceremony?"

"Yes, Potter," McGonagall said in shock. "But while I'm putting things together, why don't you go to your dormitory. The password is Actum."

And so, while the headmistress got things ready for the ceremony, he went down to his dormitory. On his way there, he looked at every picture and took in every crack in every wall that he passed, for he never expected to see Hogwarts again, and now here he was, going home. Life seemed so peaceful for a change, and for once, he had no worries.

"Password," the Fat Lady said nonchalantly.

"Actum," Harry said calmly, bringing the Fat Lady to her senses.

"Harry Potter!" she shrieked. "You're dead, though! How can you be here? I just don't under–"

"Actum," Harry said again, and the Fat Lady let her portrait swing open. Instantly, the sight of the common room came to his eyes. He red and scarlet colors that he'd missed so much hit him hard, and his eyes filled with tears of joy. But those soon disappeared at the sight that stood just before him.

"Oh my," Hermione said, holding her hands to her mouth. "Harry? Harry, it can't be?" He walked right over to her and gave her a tight hug.

"It's me," he said. "It's me, Hermione, I swear it. Merlin, it's so great to see you. I've missed you so much."

Ron stood right next to Hermione, but unlike her, he couldn't find the words to say. He just stood there, jaw open, watching his best friend just be alive.

"Ron," Harry said happily. "Ron, it's me. I'm not dead. Quite the opposite… I've never felt so alive." Harry stepped right in front of Ron, and gave him a brotherly hug.

"I'm so sorry to keep this short," he said. "But I need to find Ginny. Where is she?"

"She upstairs in your dormitory," Hermione said, pointing upstairs in shock. Harry nodded his head and ran up the stairs to his old dormitory, taking in every minute of it.

He opened the door quietly to see his beautiful red head lying on his bed, hiding her face in his pillow as she cried her eyes out. Smiling, he walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. He stroked her red hair peacefully, trying to calm her tears.

"Mum, please," Ginny said through her tears. "I just want to be alone right now. Please just go away."

He placed his mouth right next to her ear and whispered softly and gently, "I'm not your mother."

Her eyes flew open as the sound of his voice ran through her mind. Sitting straight up, she looked him in the eyes, and gasped. "Harry…," she said. "You're… you're here."

"And I'm not leaving again," he said, then placed his mouth to her ear again and whispered, "It's all over, Gin. It's just a memory."

Her eyes grew wide as those words hit her full force. "You mean… he's gone. It's over? The war?"

He nodded, and she flung her arms around him. Lifting her up of the ground he kissed her, swinging her around happily.

"I can kiss you, Ginny!" he yelled, continuing to swing her around. "I can be with you without worry! I can hug you, dance with you, and stroke your hair!" He set her down gently. "Ginny… I can love you."

She smiled sweetly at him and whispered into his ear, "Always and Forever."


	21. The Ceremony

It only took about an hour for McGonagall to set up the ceremony in which Harry would tell everyone his story. The whole Order came to Hogwarts to hear what exactly had happened down in the chamber. It was a very touching moment for Harry to see his family again.

"Harry, dear," Mrs. Weasley said happily as she squeezed him tightly. "Oh, Harry! We were so worried! Mad-Eye came to our house and said… but it doesn't matter now. Oh, Harry!"

"Mum, you're gonna kill him," Ginny said, laughing at her mother's concern. "Why don't you let the others have him for awhile now?"

But it wasn't different with everyone else. He was pulled into a deep bear hug by everyone he saw, including people he thought didn't like him much. Finally, after speaking to everyone in the Order for at least a minute, he was pushed to Remus.

They just stood there in silence until Harry said, "Well… I hear you're engaged? That's… wonderful! Congratulations, Moony!"

"Yeah…," Remus said. "I hear you're a hero?" Harry looked up at those words, and they two men sat there staring at each other for a moment, until Remus pulled him into a bear hug. "Merlin, Harry, you scared me. I thought I'd lost what was left of me; what was left of my friends. But…," he pulled Harry away to look him in the eyes. "I'm so sorry I tried to stop you. Will you ever forgive me?"

Harry smiled innocently and said, "I forgave you the moment you did it. The same goes with the others. I knew why they did it, and I knew why I had to leave. Will you ever forgive me?"

"Only if you're my best man at my wedding," Remus said, smiling. "That's my only condition, Potter."

"Then looks like I'm forgiven," Harry said, then looked over at Tonks, who was standing right next to her fiancé. "Good find, Tonks."

"Harry!" she said, giving him a hug as well. "I'm so glad to see you alive! We were all so sure that you'd been killed."

"No, actually, I'm the one that survived," he said, causing Tonks to get a look of confusion on her face. "I'll explain--"

"Now, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall said, holding out her hand so he could get onto the staff table. "Please explain your story."

Harry nodded his head and got onto the teachers table, looking out at the whole school as he did so. Everyone looked so shocked to see him, yet cheerful that he was alright. It was the most miraculous thing he'd ever seen… a whole community caring about one person. Nothing felt better than that.

"Hello, everyone," Harry said waving at crowd of students and adults. "I know, big surprise to see me, huh? Well, I don't think you know how surprised I am to see all of you, considering I never thought I would see any of you again." The crowd just stared at him, listening to what he had to say intently.

"I guess I should start with what happened two years ago," he began, and continued from there. He explained all about Sirius, and how furious he was that he'd been killed. He told them all about the prophecy, and about what he was told he had to do. He told them all about how Dumbledore went searching for the pieces of Voldemort's soul, and all about how they had gone to find one of them together.

"Nobody knows that I was there," he said. "I was hiding, so nobody saw me watch Dumbledore die. And nobody knew why I was with Dumbledore that night in the first place. It was that night that I realized I was all alone in what I had to do. And not only was I alone, but Dumbledore and I failed… we didn't grab a piece of soul… we grabbed a fake."

The crowd gasped, making Harry apprehended just how much of a nightmare his own story was. He continued to tell them about what he'd learned in the pensieve, and about how he came to the conclusion that there was a guide to all of Voldemort's soul pieces inside of his old house.

"It wasn't easy escaping from where I was. I had to get a little help from…," he turned his attention to his sweet Ginny and winked. She smiled brightly, and he continued. "But I did escape, and that's when I went to my old house in Godric's Hollow to get the Soul Guide. After I found that, it was simple. I climbed mountains, went through forests, entered old houses and went through the rubbish bins, but I finally found almost every piece."

He told them all about Fawkes, and how the bird led him to the bathroom in which the Chamber of Secrets was hidden.

"I made Myrtle promise not to tell anyone I was there," he said, "because I knew if they knew, they would stop me. But apparently a certain poltergeist heard my story, and went off to tell. It didn't matter, though, because by the time they reached me I was already gone."

He told them about the Chamber of Secrets, and how he snuck in without anybody noticing he was there.

"I had to call the snake toward me," he continued. "If I didn't destroy it, I couldn't fight Voldemort and live through it. The instant that snake reached me it was a goner. It was then that I came out of the shadows."

He told them all about his chat with the Dark Lord, and how, for just a moment, panic crawled onto the evil wizard's face. But the panic soon went away as he pulled out his secret weapon: Ginny.

"My heart stopped," he said sadly. "He had her in his arms, and said that, if I didn't surrender, he'd kill her. But I didn't think it was her. I thought she was studying above me in the library, so I held my wand at the ready. He said that I'd made my choice, and that it was too late to change it. It wasn't until then that I noticed the locket around her neck." He had to stop here for just a moment as the thought brought tears to his eyes.

"Merlin, I thought it was over," he said, tearing his eyes away from the crowd and placing them on Ginny. "I tried to stop him, but… I couldn't. Gin, I swear, if I'd seen that that locket first, I would've dropped my wand. It would've been over, right there." He paused for a second to get his thoughts together, then continued.

He told them about how the souls of the ones he loved gave him extraordinary powers, which made him invincible.

"All I could feel was hatred," he explained. "My eyes… I could feel them go black, and for the first time in my life I could fly. Never, not once, have I ever felt so angry, sad, and lost. Nothing had a point anymore, yet everything seemed to matter. I snatched his wand from his hands, and told him to bring it. But… he had no chance."

The eyes of everyone in the great hall grew wide as they hoped and prayed that what he was about to say was legitimate. He pulled from his back pocket the wooden stick that Voldemort had used to kill so many lives.

"I hold in my hand," he began. "The wand of Voldemort, which has killed so many helpless people to this date." He held it up high enough so everyone in the hall could see it. "It will never hurt anyone again," he said, and threw it in the fire that was behind him.

His sight instantly went black, erasing the beautiful view of the great hall and all its occupants. He could feel his legs turn into jelly as he lost balance and fell face first from the staff table.

"Harry!" Ginny screamed as she watched Harry fall from the table into the crowd. She ran over to him just as Hagrid caught him.

He was unconscious, and Ginny knew that, if he didn't get immediate attention from the school nurse, something horrible could happen.

And so they all rushed Harry to the hospital wing, praying that their hero was alright.


	22. Death and Darkness

Harry was rushed to the hospital wing immediately. Nobody knew what had happened or why he'd just suddenly passed out, but they did know that it could be serious. The whole Order went with him, Ginny leading the way as his breathing was getting fainter and fainter.

Once in the hospital wing, the nurse shooed them out, saying that she had to do what she did in peace. Ginny, however, refused to leave.

"Miss Weasley, if you want him to heal, you need to leave," she said angrily. "He needs rest and relaxation, and you here will just complicate things!"

"I don't care!" she screamed at the nurse. "I will not be leaving him. Not now, not ever! I've been waiting for him to come back for almost a year, and you cannot kick me out at this moment."

"Ginny," Hermione said in a very calm Hermione-ish way. "If you want him to get better, then you should leave. What if he really does need quiet right now?" But the young witch silenced herself at the sight of her friend's face.

"Hermione, what would you do," Ginny said through tears. "What would you do if Ron was in Harry's place right now? Would you just leave him? Or would you stay and do all you could?"

"Ginny," Ron cut in. "Hermione's right. What if you just make things worse?" But Ginny wasn't going to take this from anybody.

"Don't you two get it?" she asked, while the Order ran over to her and tried to calm her. "Don't any of you get it? This isn't just some stupid stubborn battle to be by his side. If I'm not there, I won't be able to live with myself."

"Gin," Tonks said, running to help her friend. "Ginny, sometimes what we want isn't always best. Trust me, okay. If you really care for him, then leave him for awhile."

"I don't just care for him!" she screamed back. "I LOVE him!" Instantly, everyone's mood changed. Nobody knew just how much Ginny cared about him, and now that they knew… it was hard to stop her from seeing him. "I love him so much, and I will not leave him! Not ever!" She pushed past the nurse and into the hospital wing, where she ran over to Harry and grabbed hold of his hand, refusing to let it go.

"Miss Weasley!" the nurse yelled, but Professor McGonagall stopped her.

"Let Miss Weasley stay, Poppy," she said, smiling at the young woman who was looking straight into their hero's closed eyes. "Maybe this is what is best."

"Fine!" the nurse said. "But if Miss Weasley dares get in my way, she's out of here, do you understand that?" Everyone nodded, and the nurse closed the door behind her.

_All Harry could see was darkness. He had no clue where he was, or why he was there, for the last thing he remembered was throwing Voldemort's wand in the fire. He couldn't see anything, and just wanted to go back to where he was just a few moments ago. But how he could do it, he didn't know._

"What is that?" Ginny asked as a muggle contraption was brought into the room. It looked like a huge television screen with a thin green line running across it. The nurse hooked it up to Harry, and somehow it started beeping.

"It's a heart monitor," the nurse said. "When the line goes flat, than Mr. Potter's heart will have stopped. I'm going to do my best to keep that from happening, though."

Ginny just stared at the monitor, watching the line move up and down, up and down; listening to the constant beeps that emitted from the machine. But, as annoying as the sound was to her, she knew that as long as it kept going, Harry was still alive. And that's all she really wanted.

_Harry was looking around the darkness, trying to find a way out of it. Suddenly, his black surroundings turned white, and he could see again._

Ginny had fallen asleep when she heard Harry's heart line go flat, and the beep become a constant. She stood up fast, screaming for the nurse. But the nurse couldn't do anything to help him.

"Ginny, he's gone," she said, holding the girl tightly. "I can't help him now, honey. He's gone. I'm so sorry, Ginny."

"No," she cried, letting her hysterical tears fall from her face. "No, there must be something you can do! You're a witch, isn't there anything that can be done?"

"I'm afraid," she said, looking the girl in the eyes. "That no magic can bring a person back from the dead. I'm so sorry Miss Weasley."

The nurse stood up and brought in all the Order members from outside the hospital wing. It only took a few moments for them to understand what exactly was going on, and it only took a few moments for the tears to reach their eyes as well.

"Harry, come back!" Ginny screamed, banging her fists on his dead chest. "You swore to me you'd come back! You promised me you wouldn't leave me again! So come back NOW!" But no matter what she said, she knew that he would never come back, and this thought tore her up inside.

"_Harry," Lily Potter said from behind him. "Harry, you've finally come to join us. We've been waiting for you for so long."_

_As his eyes got used to the bright light, he realized that it was not only his mother that was waiting for him, but Sirius, Dumbledore, and his father. He smiled at the sight of them all again, and started to follow them into the brighter light._

_But, just as he was about to enter the unknown realm that lay before him, he stopped, for a sound had hit his ears. He heard cries coming from all around him, the cries of the ones he loved. But there was one cry that stood out and made him stop._

"_Harry, please don't go," said Ginny's voice from behind him. "You promised me you'd never leave again. You swore to me, Harry Potter!"_

_He froze in shock and sadness. "Wait!" he said to the four people leading the way into the light. "I can't join you. I…," he paused and looked below him, where he saw the figure of Ginny crying by his side. "I can't live without her."_

_The four people in front on him just stared at him for a moment, then smiled. James walked over to him and put his hands on his son's shoulders._

"_Go to her, Harry," he said. "And whatever you do, don't leave her again. She needs you just as much as you need her." Harry nodded his head, gave his mother, father, Sirius, and Dumbledore each a hug, and slowly disappeared, leaving them behind._

Harry's eyes were open so fast that his heart monitor hadn't even begun to beep again. He looked around him to see all his loved ones crying for him. Slowly he moved his hand and put it on Ginny's cheek.

"It's… alright… Ginny… don't cry," he said, watching her face turn to his as he smiled up at her. Her tearful eyes instantly became full of joy as they fell on his living face. "I'm keeping my promise," he said with a smile, and she gave him a soft kiss on the lips.


	23. Harry's Wish

It only took two days for Harry to fully recuperate from dying and coming back to life. He got to watch Ron and Hermione graduate top of their classes. It was no surprise that Hermione survived school, but Ron's diploma was very shocking.

Even though Harry was very happy for his best friends, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. It was his dream to be an auror, and now that he'd quit school to search for the Horcruxes, he couldn't go back. So, in a way, he was very jealous of Ron and Hermione. That is, until Professor McGonagall called him up to her office one afternoon.

The note surprised him a bit, but he did as she asked and met him up in her office. Once there, the headmistress welcomed him graciously and asked him to sit down, saying that their meeting would start as soon as the Minister of Magic arrived.

It took ten minutes for the minister to arrive, but the moment he stepped inside the office his face lit up with a smile.

"Mr. Potter," he said happily. "I'm so glad to see you alive and well. We were all so worried about you for many months. Congratulations on your defeat, and as Minister of Magic, I want to thank you."

Harry's eyebrows went up into his hair as the Minister handed him a shiny gold medal. On the medal were the words, "Order of Merlin, First Class given to Mr. Harry Potter for his defeat of the Dark Lord Voldemort."

"Wow…," Harry said, putting on a fake smile. "Thanks, Minister. This is one of the nicest things anybody's ever given me." He got up, bowed slightly, and said, "Now, if you will excuse me."

He got up to leave, but Professor McGonagall stopped him. "Mr. Potter, you do not seem happy for some reason? May I ask why? I mean… you are the man everyone wants to be at this moment. Why are you not happy?"

"I'm happy, Professor, honest," he said, looking down at his feet. "But I must leave now. I promised Hermione and Ron that I'd go to their graduation parties."

And suddenly she understood. "Mr. Potter, is there anything that you want? Anything I can give you for what you've done? Because all you have to do is tell me, and you'll have it."

"Well," Harry said in a hopeless tone. "I've always wanted to be an auror. But… I quit school, so… now it's hopeless, isn't it? I'm done, and there's nothing I can do to go back and change it."

Professor McGonagall walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Mr. Potter, you never cease to amaze me. You've destroyed Quirrel, you saved Miss Weasley from the Chamber of Secrets, you saved Sirius Black from the dementors, you fought in the Triwizard Tournament and won at the young age of fourteen, you protected all your friends in the Department of Mysteries, you helped Dumbledore try and find a horcrux, and you destroyed the Dark Lord Voldemort… but still, the only thing you want is to finish school."

"Yeah, and it looks like my wish won't be coming true," he said sadly. "Once you quit, you can't come back, huh?"

"Mr. Potter, I've made exceptions for you in the past, and I will continue to make them for you," she said. "But are you sure you want to go back to school? You've already missed a year of classes… it might be a bit harder for you than the others."

"Professor… I want to go back to school," he said. "I want to prove that I can do it… I can kill evil wizards, but I want to prove that I can graduate."

"Then Mr. Potter," she said with a smile on her face. "I will expect you back in school in September. Don't be late!" she said, and winked at him.

"Really?" he said, his sadness turning into happiness at the idea of himself graduating without any problem. "I can really come back? Minister, may I come back?"

"Of course you can, Harry," he said shock evident on his face. "And I'm looking forward to having you on my auror team in a few years." He then turned to Professor McGonagall and said, "I must be going Minerva… I have a lot of work ahead of me. See you both later." He nodded his head in goodbye, and flooed away.

Harry got up to leave, hardly able to contain himself, when Professor McGonagall called to him and said, "Don't be late, Potter!"

"Oh, I won't, Professor, I promise," he said smiling, and exited the office.

"Introducing the graduating class of 1998," said Professor McGonagall happily. She pulled out her list of graduating names and began calling them off. "We'll start with our head boy and head girl. Ms. Ginny Weasley, please step forward."

Ginny stepped up and received her diploma, waving at her family, who were taking pictures with a magical camera.

"Mr. Harry Potter, please step forward," McGonagall said, and he stepped forward, getting calls and cheers from all over the crowd. He smiled at everyone and waved his diploma in the air with one hand, and pulling Ginny close to him with the other.

The crowd laughed at him and his lovely girlfriend as they stepped down to join their huge family. They all congratulated them both, and together they went to the Gryffindor dormitory to celebrate.

It was about an hour after the party began that Professor McGonagall came inside the dormitory to speak to him privately.

"Harry," she said happily. "I'm so delighted to know that you got what you wanted. But I do have a favor to ask of you. And I know you've done so much already, but… as you know, the Defense Against the Dark Arts position still needs to be filled."

"Yes, I know," Harry said, curious as to why the headmistress was bringing something like this up. "What about it?"

"Would you like to be the Defense professor?" she asked a hopeful look on her face. Harry was shocked. After all, Voldemort had tried to get the job when he graduated, but Dumbledore wouldn't allow it. He was surprised that she was allowing him.

"Wait," Harry said. "If I said yes to the job… would that mean that… I get to live here; that I could literally move into the castle?"

"I know it's a lot to ask," she said. "But I know that your marks were always high, and I know that you always loved the castle. Would you mind?"

But Harry, who loved the school more than any other place in the world, gave his professor a huge hug. This was a dream come true. He could live at Hogwarts, the place that he grew up, and he wasn't letting this chance slip by.

"I will gladly take the position," he said through a sincere smile. "When exactly do I start, Professor?"

"You start in September," she said joyfully. "And I'm no longer your professor, Harry, but your colleague. So please… call me Minerva."

"Well then," he said. "See you in September, Minerva." And then, with a wink, he was gone.

Harry Potter ended up being the best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor the school had ever seen, and it was mainly because of all his experiences. After everything he'd learned in his own battles, he was ready to teach younger children, without worrying about being expelled.

He ended up getting married at the age of twenty to Ginny Weasley, and together they had two children: Lily Marie Potter and Sirius James Potter. Their two children ended up being top of their classes. Lily chose to be an auror, and Sirius brought peace between the Hogwarts houses.

Ron and Hermione got married as well, and they had three children: Harriet Molly Weasley, Eric Arthur Weasley, and Kathleen Minerva Weasley. Their children grew up to be many different things. Harriet started the Elf Rights Department at the ministry and, with the help of her mother, made it into something everyone wanted to join. Eric became Chief Wizard, and Kathleen became the Minister of Magic.

Everyone's lives ended up perfect, and Harry not only became a professor at Hogwarts, but, after many years of working at the school, was given the headmaster position. His family lived at Hogwarts with him, and he had never been happier. Life in the wizard world was perfect. And it was all because of Harry James Potter.


	24. Back to the Beginning

"Whoa!" Lily yelled as she awoke from her very strange dream. And it truly was a strange dream; her son had been in it, and she'd watched him grow up. His life was horrible at first, but it ended up happy.

"James," Lily said, shaking her husband awake. "James, wake up. Wake up; I have to talk to you. I just had a very weird dream, and I need to talk to you."

"Huh?" he said, slowly waking up from his deep sleep. "Lily, what is it? What's the matter? Are you alright? Where's Harry?"

"James, we're fine," she said, smiling at her husband's paranoia. He'd been like that since they had found out about the prophecy stating that Harry might be the one who was supposed to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort. "I just have to ask you a question."

"Can't it wait until morning, Lil?" He asked, yawning widely. "I was just getting into a dream about quidditch. It was bloody brilliant, too. I was on the British team, and I was doing excellent out there!"

"James, please focus," Lily said, laughing at her husband. "You had the Secret Keeper meeting last week, right?"

"Yes," James said. "Lily, don't worry, okay. Things will be fine, you'll see. I'd bet money on it that Harry isn't the chosen one anyway. He is a half-blood, and Voldemort will most definitely go after the pure-blood. That's just how he is, you know that."

"Yeah, I know," she said. "But you did give the job to Sirius, right? I mean… you didn't switch at the last minute, did you?" Instantly she watched as her husband's eyes willed with guilt. "Oh my… James, please tell me Sirius is our Secret Keeper? That was supposed to be the plan all along. Sirius was the one that was supposed to protect us!"

"Lily, calm down," James said, hugging his wife. "Sirius is not our Secret Keeper. He gave me the idea at the last minute that we should use Peter instead. After all, Voldemort will be expecting Sirius. But he won't expect Peter."

"No," Lily said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Merlin, James, what day is today?"

James turned around to look at his muggle clock. "It's only eleven o'clock, Lil, so it's still October 31st. Why do you ask?"

"No," Lily whispered. "James, you just made a huge mistake. You should've chosen Sirius! Oh, James, what have you done?"

"Lily, my love," he said. "Trust me, alright. You can trust Peter. He would never betray us. He's a marauder, Lil. The marauders are sworn to protect one another. I would bet my life that Peter would rather die than betray us."

But just as those words came out of his mouth, there was a knock at the front door. Lily's heart stopped as the sound hit her like a slap in the face.

"Let me get that," James said, getting to his feet. "That's probably Peter right now coming to check on us." But Lily grabbed his arm to pull him back.

"James, no!" she yelled. "Don't go… it's a trap. Please trust me on this one!" She was desperate for her husband to realize that answering the door would be a horrible mistake. But he was too stubborn to see, and he calmly explained that it would be alright, and walked downstairs to the living room.

Lily followed him down the stairs, standing at the bottom, her whole body shaking as her husband answered the door.

"See, Lily," James said at the sight of Peter. "I told you there was nothing to worry about. Peter, do come in for a moment and…." His voice trailed off as he saw the look of horror and sadness written across his friend's face. Just as he was about to ask what the matter was, Peter was pushed out of the way, causing James to come face-to-face with Lord Voldemort himself.

"LILY, RUN!" James said as Voldemort threw him against the back wall with his magic. But Lily couldn't run. All she could do was stand there and watch the evil wizard fight her husband to the death.

Peter, however, went around the house hardly noticed. He stepped into Lily's office where, on her desk was a piece of paper with the words "Soul Guide" at the top. He grabbed the list of objects and places, and ran upstairs to the attic, where he found an old baby name book.

Quickly, he placed the guide on the page with the name Harry in it, and closed the book on that page.

"Oh, Harry," he said painfully. "Please use this guide someday to stop him. Free our world." And with those last words he ran down the stairs to continue watching the duel.

"LILY, I SAID RUN!" he screamed, turning around to look at her. But Voldemort took his chance, and shot the famous unforgivable at the man with which he was dueling. James fell to floor dead, eyes wide open in shock. Voldemort laughed cruelly, and turned around to face the young redhead.

She ran faster than ever before. Up the stairs and into the nursery, where she closed the door, locked it, and grabbed hold of her only son. He looked at her with a look of pure innocence that almost killed Lily. And that's when she realized that he was the Chosen One; that he was going to do great things. And she knew that if he died, their world would die.

The locked door behind her blew to pieces as Voldemort walked in, wand at the ready. His smile was sick and made Lily want to gag.

"Out of my way, girl!" he screamed, watching as stayed in front of the cradle. "You don't have to die! And you won't if you move now!"

Lily, who knew what she had to do, gulped. "I will not move," she said strongly. "To get Harry, you'll have to get past me."

"Child, I said move!" he screamed, his madness evident in the tone of his voice. "Move or die!"

"DIE!" Lily screamed back. "I CHOOSE TO DIE!" Voldemort's patience was growing thin, and he decided to give her one last chance.

"You can live, Potter," he said. "All I want is the boy. Give me the boy, and I will leave you unharmed."

"I will NEVER give up my son," she said hatefully, causing his anger to boil over.

"I gave you your chance, you filthy little mudblood!" he roared, and with one wave of his wand, she was gone. After watching her fall dead to the floor he stepped over to the crib and pointed his wand at the tiny baby that lay inside it.

The baby looked up at the Dark Lord, and then, not knowing what was happening or what had happened to his mother and father, saw a flash of green light come straight at him. But, for some reason, the green light hit him, and then bounced back at its sender.

A shriek of pain could be heard all throughout the house as the Dark Lord's powers were destroyed, causing him to disappear like a cloud of vapor, leaving Harry Potter with nothing but a scar.


End file.
